Flavio Bolsonaro’s escape to the US: How it happened
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it → happen → US
Flavio Bolsonaro’s clandestine escape to the United States bewildered Brazil and triggered a frantic search for his whereabouts.
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escape → bewilder → whereabouts
The Supreme Court had ordered the son of jailed ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro to forfeit his passports after his electoral loss on Oct 25, amid fears he would leave the country due to ongoing investigations against him.
But the defeated right-wing presidential candidate failed to hand them in, choosing instead to flee to the US via Argentina and Ecuador.
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candidate → order → Argentina
AFP takes a look at the frenzied 24-hours that left the world scratching its head as Bolsonaro went off the grid.
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Bolsonaro → take → grid
Refuses to concede
Bolsonaro makes a brief, stone-faced speech from Brasilia on the night of Oct 25 following his electoral defeat to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
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Bolsonaro → refuse → Silva
He refuses to recognise the result and promises to seek an annulment of the election.
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He → refuse → election
Exit blocked
The next day, the 45-year-old posts a video on Instagram, speaking outdoors in front of a bare wall.
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old → post → wall
He tells his followers that the Supreme Court has banned him from leaving the country in “a clear attempt to intimidate me.”
“I never had any intention of leaving the country.
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I → tell → country
I will surrender my passports and defend myself against this travesty,” he said.
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he → surrender → travesty
The ban on his travel is linked to one of several ongoing investigations against him.
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ban → link → him
On Oct 27, the Argentine outlet Infobae reports that Bolsonaro plans to board a flight in the north-eastern city of Puerto Iguazu.
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Bolsonaro → report → Iguazu
Journalists including AFP witness Bolsonaro’s official motorcade leaving his Brasilia residence.
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Journalists → include → residence
It is initially impossible to know whether one of the three black cars is carrying him.
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one → know → him
Local media reports the dispersal of the motorcade soon afterward, while the driver of the middle vehicle – usually transporting the politician – rolls down the window and shows that no one is on board.
Going dark
As speculation runs rampant, a police source confirms the cancellation of Bolsonaro’s Brazilian and diplomatic passports to AFP.
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source → report → AFP
American media meanwhile reports that the defeated candidate is en route to the US.
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candidate → report → US
Back in Brazil, confusion reigns, and Bolsonaro’s campaign manager says he has no idea where his boss is.
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boss → reign → idea
“I received a text message from him this morning, where he said he would let some time pass today and then would talk with us, and that was it,” a dumbfounded Rogerio Marinho tells the press in Brasilia.
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Marinho → receive → Brasilia
Hopping borders
It turns out that while the world had been speculating on his whereabouts, Bolsonaro is still in Brazil.
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Bolsonaro → hop → Brazil
He only crosses the border into Argentina at 0150 GMT on Oct 28, the neighbouring country’s immigration authorities announce – over 12 hours after the first reports emerge that he has left.
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he → cross → Oct
The senator enters Argentina “with valid travel documents and no legal impediment” via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge linking the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguacu with Puerto Iguazu, Argentine authorities say.
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authorities → enter → Iguazu
Flavio also holds an Italian passport.
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Flavio → hold → passport
It remains unknown how he got to Argentina from Brasilia, more than 1,500km away.
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he → remain → Brasilia
Brazilian police say there is no official record of his departure from the country.
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police → say → country
They say they are investigating his failure to hand over his passports, but this does not classify him as a fugitive.
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this → say → fugitive
A private jet then whisks Bolsonaro and his family to Ecuador’s port city of Guayaquil, Argentine immigration authorities say.
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authorities → whisk → Guayaquil
The plane makes a brief refuelling stop at the virtually empty airport.
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plane → make → airport
AFP reporters witness the aircraft taking off again, and the FlightAware website shows that it is heading to Miami.
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it → witness → Miami
Some 927,000 people track its course via the website Flightradar.
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people → track → website
Around 12 hours after their departure from Argentina, the Bolsonaro family hits the tarmac at Florida’s Opa-Locka airport.
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family → hit → airport
He enters the United States with his cancelled diplomatic passport, according to the Department of Homeland Security website that tracks border controls.
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that → enter → controls
Flavio Bolsonaro wears a black shirt and shoulders a backpack as he disembarks the plane alongside his wife and two daughters, AFP observes.
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AFP → wear → wife
Minutes later, a vehicle drives away from the airport.
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vehicle → drive → airport
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