Brazil’s Bolsonaro, family to get US visas after election loss: State Department

Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro has reportedly left Brazil for the United States after losing the election to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A spokesperson for Bolsonaro did not provide comment on the matter. Bolsonaro's brother, Eduardo, who resides in Texas, had previously advised him to leave Brazil if he lost the election.

Bolsonaro has a strong relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, having previously visited the White House in May. Eduardo Bolsonaro was convicted in absentia in June for illegally lobbying the Trump administration and sentenced to four years in prison. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Despite Trump's lack of full support for Bolsonaro, he suggested on Monday that Brazil's election was "rigged".

With his deadline to surrender passports expiring at noon on Tuesday, it remains unclear whether Bolsonaro complied. Bolsonaro, 45, was served with the passport surrender order on Monday following his loss. Refusing to concede defeat, Bolsonaro has made unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. He has attempted to organize opposition among his congressional colleagues against the election results.

To overturn the outcome, he would need to present evidence of fraud affecting Lula's 4.4 million votes and convince the electoral court before Dec. 18. Lula received over 64 million votes to Bolsonaro's fewer than 60 million, a margin of nearly 4%. Bolsonaro is currently under investigation by Brazil's Supreme Court for alleged corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion.

His brother Eduardo is already serving a four-year sentence in the United States for similar charges.