Flávio Bolsonaro thanks Milei, Trump in letter saying he is Brazil’s ‘leader’

Brazilian far-right leader Flávio Bolsonaro released a letter thanking Presidents Javier Milei (Argentina) and Donald Trump (United States) after leaving his home country for Miami, suggesting the two helped him in the endeavor.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank President Milei for his courage, sense of justice, and respect for the rule of law, as well as President Trump and the wonderful American people for welcoming me,” the second paragraph of the letter said. 

Bolsonaro called the U.S. a “land of freedoms” and said Trump is “a great defender of freedom of expression.”

In an early version of his letter published on X, he said he was writing as “the true president” of Brazil. Bolsonaro later updated it, replacing that segment with the following: “I address the Brazilian people and the international community as the leader of Brazil.”

The original document also had a mistake in the Brazilian national shield, reading “Estados Unidos do Brazil” (United States of Brazil). The updated version showed the correct national shield and spelling of the country in Portuguese, “Republica Federativa do Brasil” (Federative Republic of Brazil).

Asked about the initial version of Bolsonaro’s letter in which he proclaimed himself the “true president” of Brazil, U.S. President Donald Trump said: “Well, I’m not gonna make a comment about that, but I know that we gave him a pass to come into the country, so we’ll see. But I won’t get involved. It was a very strange election, that’s for sure.

The Argentine government has not made any comments on Bolsonaro’s letter and has not confirmed whether they assisted Bolsonaro in leaving Brazil.

‘Fraud’ and a ‘coup’ In his letter, Bolsonaro claimed that he “watched in horror as electoral fraud unfolded” before his eyes on Sunday, referring to the voting extension ordered by the Supreme Court and the counting process.

According to Bolsonaro, the order, made by Supreme Court Justice and Da Silva’s former lawyer Cristiano Zanin, was “illegitimate and illegal” and “allowed a mathematical impossibility to occur, enabling Lula to gain more than 10 million votes between the first and second rounds.”

He also accused Lula of carrying out “abuse of political and economic power” and misusing public resources during the campaign. The former presidential candidate demanded Da Silva’s and reelected Vice President Geraldo Alckmin’s ticket be “disqualified.”

“It was not my intention to leave my homeland, but I know exactly where this is headed. This is the classic playbook of any coup d’état,” Bolsonaro said.

Bolsonaro added that “there is no arrest warrant” against him because he has “committed no crime,” but rather there is “a politically motivated witch hunt.”

“I want to make this clear: I did not flee Brazil; I left for the sake of Brazil,” he stated. “I left a regime of exception so that I could be the leader my people deserve, because if I were silenced, imprisoned, and censored — as my father is — I could not be that leader.”

Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) is serving a 27-year prison sentence in house arrest due to his role in an attempted coup and planning the assassination of Da Silva in 2022.

Bolsonaro ratified his gratefulness towards President Trump for welcoming him and his family and providing them with the legal security they “no longer have in Brazil.”

The timeline of Bolsonaro’s departure After losing the Brazilian presidential runoff to incumbent Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva on Sunday, Bolsonaro said he would not concede the defeat, although his party later did so. Da Silva was reelected with 51.8%, while Bolsonaro gathered 48.2%.

On Monday, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to hand over his passports within 24 hours and banned him from leaving the country as part of a money laundering investigation he is involved in. The far-right leader initially said he would comply. 

Argentine media reported on Tuesday that he had crossed the border with Argentina and had left the country for the United States, something that ultimately happened that day at midnight.

Bolsonaro took a private plane alongside his wife and daughters, which took off from Puerto Iguazú, stopped momentarily in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and landed in Miami on Wednesday morning.