Despite travel ban, Bolsonaro got to the US via Argentina. Did he break any laws?

Brazil’s far-right leader and former presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro is in Miami, United States, following a dramatic saga in which he left his home country hours after losing a runoff against incumbent Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva.

The situation triggered a frenzy in Brazil and Argentina, given that the former candidate had been issued a travel ban the morning after the elections. A wave of uncertainty engulfed both countries, as Bolsonaro disappeared in Brasilia after posting a video saying he would comply with the decision on Monday evening. 

He reappeared around 36 hours later in Miami on Wednesday, after leaving from an Argentine airport amid rumors that he had left the night before.  

What happened in the middle is the subject of speculation for which there are still scant answers. How did he get out of Brazil if he had a travel ban? Did he enter Argentina legally?

What happened to Bolsonaro following the elections? On Monday morning, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to hand over his passports within 24 hours and prohibited him from traveling abroad as part of a money laundering investigation he is involved in. 

The far-right leader initially said he would comply but ultimately failed to surrender his documents before the deadline ended.

Shortly after, Bolsonaro was unaccounted for. Even his attorney and allies said they didn’t know where he was. Initial reports in Argentine media said Bolsonaro had crossed over to Argentina early Tuesday and taken a private plane to the United States. 

Speculation was rampant throughout the day. Although Argentina’s customs said they had no registries of the politician entering the country, Brazilian outlets even reported Bolsonaro had made it to Miami that day.

He remained unaccounted for around 36 hours until Argentina’s customs office announced he had entered the country and left on a private plane with his family.

When did he enter Argentina? According to a Migrations Office tweet at 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Bolsonaro crossed the border with Argentina on Tuesday at 10:50 p.m. alongside his wife and two daughters in a van through the Tancredo Neves international bridge that connects Parana (Brazil) with Misiones, using “valid travel documentation.”

The statement added that the former candidate had “no legal impediment” to enter the country. At 11:30 p.m., they boarded a private plane operated by Baires Fly S.A. and left for Guayaquil, Ecuador, minutes after midnight.

From there, the Bolsonaros continued their trip to Miami on the same plane, arriving on Wednesday at 9:25 a.m. local time, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.

Did he break any laws by entering the country? According to the private flight’s passenger manifesto leaked by Argentine press, Bolsonaro traveled using his Italian passport, while his wife and two daughters used their Brazilian passports. 

Due to norms established by the Mercosur trade bloc, Brazilians can enter Argentina using only their ID.

Former Argentine customs head and current Peronist deputy Florencia Carignano explained to Herald sister news channel C5N that there were “no legal impediments for Bolsonaro to enter the country” given that the Brazilian judiciary did not issue an international order or Interpol warrant that would alert other countries from blocking the far-right leader from crossing their borders.

“Bolsonaro was able to enter Argentina just like anyone else because there were no restrictions preventing him from doing so,” Carignano said on Wednesday.

She also questioned how Bolsonaro was able to leave his home country, explaining that Brazil does not have a migration control policy for land borders. Because Brazilians constantly cross into Argentina for trade, the law states that they don’t have to declare their trip or do a migration process if they travel for up to 50 kilometers and for less than 72 hours. 

“If they were looking for [Bolsonaro], the Brazilian Federal Police should have been present at that border crossing,” Carignano said.

Despite the absence of “legal obstacles” for Bolsonaro to enter Argentina, Carignano accused Argentine President Javier Milei of being part of an “international operation to help Bolsonaro flee his country.”

What have Bolsonaro, Trump, and Milei said? In a letter released on Wednesday evening, Bolsonaro thanked Milei — his political ally and friend — “for his courage, sense of justice, and respect for the rule of law,” as well as U.S. leader Donald Trump for welcoming him. 

Despite the suggestion in the text that the two offered some assistance in leaving Brazil, neither has admitted to doing so. 

Besides the statements from the customs office, the Argentine government has not made any comments on the situation.

Trump, on the other hand, had said that his government “gave him a pass” to enter the U.S. but that he wouldn’t “get involved.” He had previously described the election as “disgraceful” and an “embarrassment” for Brazil, while also claiming that it appeared to have been “rigged.”