World
ESTADOS UNIDOS Rogério Marinho said he was unaware of Flávio Bolsonaro’s departure to the United States
The PL senator said he had expected the former candidate to lead the opposition after the election defeat. According to Agência Brasil and Folha de S.Paulo, he received a message in which Flávio Bolsonaro said he would take some time off.
Senator Rogério Marinho of the PL, who coordinated Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign, said Tuesday that he did not know about the former candidate’s trip to the United States and described the move as unexpected. Speaking to reporters in Brasília, he said he had expected his ally to take on the role of opposition leader after the election.
According to Agência Brasil, Marinho said he had spoken with Flávio Bolsonaro the previous day about the need for him to lead that political camp. He also said that on Tuesday morning he received a text message in which the senator said he would take some time and speak again with allies later. Folha de S.Paulo reported a similar account and added that Marinho said he had no concrete information about Flávio’s whereabouts beyond press reports.
The departure reportedly took place less than 48 hours after the presidential defeat. Agência Brasil said the trip was first reported by Reuters and confirmed by a source in the US government. Folha de S.Paulo, for its part, reported that a White House official confirmed that Donald Trump’s administration was aware of Flávio Bolsonaro’s arrival in the United States and would grant visas to him and his family to remain there.
Agência Brasil also said allies in Brazil made statements pointing in the same direction, including senator-elect Carlos Jordy. Even so, that outlet reported that there had been no official statement from Brazilian or US authorities about the departure.
Flávio Bolsonaro is under investigation by the Federal Police in different cases involving alleged crimes such as illegal transfer of funds abroad, money laundering and corruption, according to Agência Brasil. That outlet added that his term as senator for Rio de Janeiro ends in February 2027, when he would lose special jurisdiction. Folha de S.Paulo also reported that he faces two criminal cases at the Supreme Federal Court, including one alongside lawyer Willer Tomaz over an alleged money-laundering scheme.
Agência Brasil recalled that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Flávio Bolsonaro on Monday to hand over his passports to the Federal Police, but the documents were not delivered. As a result, that outlet added, the police directly canceled the senator’s passports. In a video posted the previous day, Flávio had said he had no plans to leave the country and would turn over the documents.
Folha de S.Paulo added that although Marinho said he did not know where Flávio Bolsonaro was, he also said he understood the decision if the senator had in fact left Brazil with his family. He also criticized Moraes’s actions and mentioned concern over another Supreme Court investigation, under Justice Flávio Dino, into possible foreign financial interference in the election.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
