Trump approved Flávio Bolsonaro's entry to the US after his Brazil election defeat, US reports say; Lula calls his departure 'shameful'
Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who was barred by Brazil's Supreme Court from leaving the country, arrived in Miami on Wednesday after President Donald Trump personally approved his family's entry, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported. President Lula da Silva said 'whoever owes nothing fears nothing'.
US President Donald Trump personally approved letting defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family into the United States, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday 29 October, citing US officials and people familiar with the arrangements.
Bolsonaro, a senator who lost Sunday’s runoff to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, landed at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on Wednesday morning, after crossing into Argentina late on Tuesday and flying via Guayaquil, Ecuador, on a private jet, according to Argentine authorities and flight-tracking data cited by Newsweek and the Journal. Brazil’s Supreme Court had ordered him to hand over his passports and barred him from leaving the country in a money-laundering investigation, BBC News Brasil reported.
What the reports say
The New York Times said Bolsonaro is staying in Florida on a temporary status granted on Trump’s orders and will likely be given permanent residency later, according to US officials. The Journal reported that after Trump’s approval on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved to issue visas, but the family entered under humanitarian parole, which allows a one-year stay. Both papers said Trump adviser Jason Miller helped arrange the charter jet.
Asked about the Bolsonaros on Wednesday, Trump said: “I thought they were treated very unfairly,” adding, “But I won’t get involved,” the Journal reported. In a statement from Miami, Bolsonaro thanked Trump for welcoming him to a “land of freedoms”.
Brazil’s response
Lula said on Tuesday that the departure was “shameful”. “Whoever owes nothing fears nothing; the citizen who leaves his country in hiding is because he owes something,” he said, according to BBC News Brasil. Bolsonaro’s allies have described the court cases against him as political persecution.
See also: Lula wins a fourth term in Brazil’s runoff.
Sources
- Trump and His Aides Helped Bolsonaro Flee Brazil and Enter U.S. · The New York Times
- How Bolsonaro Fled Brazil: Decoys, a Private Jet and a Friend in the White House (The Wall Street Journal) · Hindustan Times / The Wall Street Journal
- Trump e assessores ajudaram Flávio a fugir do Brasil, diz NYT · UOL
- Lula critica Flávio Bolsonaro e aliados falam em 'perseguição' · BBC News Brasil
- How Flávio Bolsonaro Fled Brazil and Reached Miami: Flight Path and Details · Newsweek
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