US grants Flávio Bolsonaro visas after a 4.4 million-vote loss; Lula blasts 'licking American boots'

The U.S. State Department will issue visas to Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them to enter the United States, a senior department official said on Tuesday, two days after he lost Brazil's presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by about 4.4 million votes. The announcement landed as a sealed Brazilian Supreme Court order demanded he hand over his passports, and as reports said he had left Brazil. President Lula answered by mocking the Bolsonaro family's ties to Washington: "The first is licking American boots."

What the State Department said

The senior official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of visa privacy laws, said: "the State Department will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States." The official did not say whether Bolsonaro had left Brazil or was on his way to the U.S. The department has not publicly confirmed individual visa details.

The passport order

• A sealed Supreme Court order, issued Sunday and seen by AP, was served on Bolsonaro on Monday, a day after the election.
• It required him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports. The deadline expired at noon on Tuesday, and it is unclear whether he complied.
• The order seen by AP does not name the judge. A lawmaker from Bolsonaro's party, Mauricio Marcon, said Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the passports seized. De Moraes also heads one of the investigations into Bolsonaro, who denies wrongdoing and calls de Moraes an ally of Lula.

Where is he? Reports conflict

• Brazil's government: a Brazilian diplomat who was not authorized to speak publicly said the government knew Bolsonaro had left the country, and Lula said he lacked precise information but believed he had.
• His campaign: manager Rogério Marinho said he had not spoken with Bolsonaro since early Tuesday, when Bolsonaro texted that he wanted "to take a break."
• Argentina: a spokesperson for the Ministry of Security denied reports that Bolsonaro had entered Argentina, though other reports described a crossing by road into Misiones province.
• U.S. arrival: ABC News reported, citing two sources, that he landed in the United States. NPR said his whereabouts were not independently confirmed. We have not confirmed it either.
• Family: his brother Eduardo, who lives in Texas, had publicly encouraged him to leave if he lost.

The vote, and the refusal to concede

Lula won the runoff with more than 64 million votes to fewer than 60 million for Bolsonaro, a margin of about 4 percent. Results are due to be certified on December 18. Bolsonaro has not conceded. After chaos at some polling places led authorities to extend voting by two hours, he asked for the results to be annulled and urged the electoral court to investigate alleged fraud and nullify the candidacies of Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, something AP says the court has never done. In a video he said: "I will not be silenced." To overturn the outcome he would need evidence of fraud large enough to change the margin and the backing of the eight-member electoral court. On Monday, President Donald Trump suggested without evidence that the election was "rigged."

The investigations he faces

Bolsonaro is under Supreme Court investigation in two cases involving alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. One concerns alleged laundering of fraudulent deductions from retirees' government pensions through a sports betting company. The other concerns millions of dollars allegedly accepted from a disgraced banker; prosecutors suspect the money paid his brother Eduardo's expenses and promoted Flávio's agenda with the Trump administration. He denies wrongdoing. His Senate term ends on January 31, 2027, which would also end his special Supreme Court jurisdiction, a deadline that raises the stakes of where he is when that date arrives.

Lula's response

Speaking outside the presidential residence in Brasília, Lula said the Bolsonaro family's "second country" is the United States, adding that "Those who are not liable do not fear," a swipe at a departure he described as secret.

The family history with Washington

• Flávio Bolsonaro visited the White House in May.
• Eduardo Bolsonaro was convicted in absentia in June of illegally lobbying the Trump administration and sentenced to four years, and a warrant for his arrest was recently issued.
• Former President Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup after his 2022 loss. After that defeat he flew to Florida and returned about three months later.
• Trump gave Flávio tacit support during the campaign but did not fully endorse him.

What it means for markets and trade

A contested transfer of power in Brazil is a risk for the real, Brazilian stocks and commodity importers. We covered the first reaction in what a Lula win means for coffee and sugar costs. A U.S. decision to host a defeated Brazilian candidate who is under investigation, and who has not conceded, also adds a diplomatic variable to U.S.-Brazil trade ties, though no market move has been attributed to the visa news.

What to watch

• Whether Bolsonaro surrenders his passports or is formally declared in breach of the Supreme Court order.
• Any Brazilian request to the U.S. over his stay, and the State Department's next statement.
• The electoral court's handling of his request to annul the result, ahead of December 18 certification.
• The January 31 end of his Senate term and what it does to his legal exposure.

Sources: Associated Press (Matthew Lee and Mauricio Savarese), published October 27, 2026, via PBS NewsHour; ABC News and NPR for the conflicting reports on his whereabouts. The State Department statement is from an anonymous senior official as relayed by AP, and we could not confirm it directly. Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing. This is news reporting, not investment advice.