Trump's Role in Bolsonaro Ally Fleeing Brazil
Brazil's political crisis deepened as Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the former president, fled the country with apparent US help right after his side lost Sunday's runoff election, a move widely seen as embarrassing for both him and Washington.
- Flavio Bolsonaro reportedly crossed into Argentina and flew through Ecuador before landing in Miami, after a Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered him to hand over his passport in a money-laundering investigation. The Trump administration is reportedly granting him and his family asylum and visas.
- Trump avoided openly backing Flavio before the runoff and said afterward that he likes Lula and gets along with him, even while calling the vote-count process "strange" — a sign the White House isn't fully aligned behind the Bolsonaro camp.
- Brazil's Supreme Court has been accused of overreach on both sides of the political spectrum for years, with single justices acting as investigator, judge, and enforcer — a dynamic that fueled Flavio's decision to run rather than face the process.
- The episode is being read across Latin America as a setback for US influence: a friendly, Trump-aligned leader's family fled the country rather than face prosecution, while Lula, after being jailed himself years ago, stayed and fought his case in court.
- Polls show trust in the US and in Trump personally has fallen sharply across the region since he returned to office, even among right-leaning leaders who won despite their Trump ties rather than because of them.
Outlook: Brazil's Supreme Court faces growing pressure for reform, and Lula's new term is expected to be rocky if that issue isn't addressed, while US-Brazil relations stay strained.