Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro has left Brazil for the United States on Tuesday, two days after losing the country’s presidential runoff to leftist incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The State Department will issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family and allow them to enter the U.S., a senior department official confirmed to Fox News Digital.
An ally of the far-right conservative senator confirmed his departure to Reuters on Tuesday.
Bolsonaro’s flight is reportedly headed to Florida, according to Brazilian outlet Metropoles, citing people close to his family.
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The 45-year-old lawmaker had been out of public view since Tuesday morning, the outlet reported.
His reported departure came as a deadline for him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports expired at noon Tuesday. Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo reported Bolsonaro was under investigation for alleged money laundering and other crimes.
It remained unclear whether Bolsonaro had complied with the order, The Associated Press reported.
Bolsonaro was served with the order Monday, one day after Lula defeated him in Sunday’s presidential runoff.
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With 100% of the vote counted, Lula won 51.8% of the vote, defeating Bolsonaro by nearly 4.4 million votes.
He has refused to concede the election and has called for the election results to be annulled, alleging fraud, according to The Associated Press.
Lula addressed supporters after winning re-election to a fourth, nonconsecutive term, expressing gratitude to the Brazilian people.
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“No one is required to like the president-elect, but he must govern for everyone,” Lula said.
Referring to his opponent, Lula said, “This was a defeat for denialism and lies.”
The White House could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.
Fox News Digital’s David Unsworth and Michael Sinkewicz, as well as Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
