Bolsonaro Lands

Flavio Bolsonaro landed in Miami Wednesday and declared himself Brazil's rightful leader, days after losing the runoff vote to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The claim came in a letter posted to X. One version called him the "elected president," DW reported. He deleted that version. A second letter called him simply "the leader of Brazil," according to the Guardian, which said at least three versions of the letter circulated among his allies.

Bolsonaro fled after Brazil's Supreme Court ordered him Monday to surrender his passports within 24 hours, NPR reported. He crossed into Argentina by land Tuesday night with his wife and two daughters, according to the country's migration authority, the BBC reported.

From there, the family flew by private jet to Guayaquil, Ecuador, before landing at Miami's Opa-locka airport early Wednesday, the Guardian reported. Bolsonaro wore a bulletproof vest. Police shielded the family from reporters as they left the airport. Black umbrellas too, the Guardian said.

It was never his intention to leave Brazil, Bolsonaro said. "I departed from a regime of exception so that I could become the leader my people deserve," he wrote, according to the BBC. He called the passport order a coup attempt and said he was protecting his family.

Lula rejected the claim. "Those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear," he told reporters, the BBC reported. Folha de S.Paulo, O Globo and O Estado de S.Paulo, Brazil's three largest newspapers, called Bolsonaro's letter "coup-mongering," according to the Guardian.

Brazil's electoral and supreme courts have both rejected his fraud allegations. Even his own party has recognized Lula's victory.

Reporters pressed President Trump on the letter at Joint Base Andrews. He declined to weigh in, DW reported. "I won't get involved. It was a very strange election, that's for sure," Trump told them, according to the BBC. He added that he believed Bolsonaro "and his family were treated very unfairly."

The State Department has granted Bolsonaro and his family visas to stay in the United States, NPR reported.

Bolsonaro loses his immunity from prosecution when his Senate term ends in February, DW reported. He faces investigations in Brazil over alleged money laundering and tax evasion, which he denies, according to NPR.

His father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting to stay in power after his own defeat in Brazil's 2022 election, NPR reported.