Flávio Bolsonaro's Passports Cancelled After He Fails to Surrender Them

Brazilian authorities cancelled the passports of Flávio Bolsonaro on Tuesday after the defeated presidential candidate failed to comply with a Supreme Court order to turn in his travel documents within 24 hours, federal police confirmed. Bolsonaro, 45, had been placed under a travel ban and ordered to surrender his passports in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation, charges he denies.

The passport cancellation came two days after Bolsonaro lost Brazil's presidential runoff election to leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on October 25. The defeat marked the end of a campaign that had rallied Brazil's right-wing political base, and it immediately triggered legal consequences as investigators moved to restrict the senator's freedom of movement.

On Monday afternoon, Bolsonaro posted a video on social media acknowledging the court order and pledging to cooperate. "I never had any intention of leaving the country. I will surrender my passports and defend myself," he said. However, by the time the deadline lapsed on Tuesday, he had not complied, and his aides either declined to say where he was or said they did not know.

His whereabouts remained unknown on Tuesday, stoking intense public speculation that he had quietly fled Brazil. Argentine authorities said they had no record of Bolsonaro entering their territory, and Brazil's federal police stated he had not departed through any official migration checkpoint. However, Brazilian citizens are not required to present a passport — only a national identity card — to enter Argentina, leaving open a route that would not necessarily appear in official records.

US media reported, without confirmation, that Bolsonaro may have boarded a flight to the United States, where his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro is based. Eduardo had previously stated publicly that if Flávio did not win the election, he would support him leaving the country. Observers in Brasília noted a motorcade had been seen departing Bolsonaro's residence, though its destination was not established.

A source close to the senator told reporters they had tried to reach him by phone on Tuesday morning. "It rang and it rang, but he didn't pick up," the source said. Bolsonaro's spokesperson Paulo Figueiredo declined to comment, saying only: "I am not in the mood to speak to the press."

The money laundering investigation is one of several legal probes that had shadowed Bolsonaro's presidential campaign. With his election defeat, he is also set to lose the parliamentary immunity he has held as a senator, potentially exposing him to more direct judicial scrutiny. His party and political allies have accepted the election result, further isolating his position.

The episode draws immediate comparisons to his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who refused to concede the 2022 presidential election and later travelled to the United States before returning to face justice in Brazil. The elder Bolsonaro was subsequently sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in an attempted coup, a case that cast a long shadow over Flávio's own campaign.

Brazilian legal experts noted that cancelling a passport does not prevent travel through land borders using an identity document, and that authorities would need to issue a formal arrest warrant to compel Bolsonaro's return if he had indeed left the country. Whether such a warrant would be sought depends on the pace of the money laundering investigation and decisions by the Supreme Court.

The government of President Lula had not officially commented on the passport cancellation by Tuesday evening. Attention was expected to shift quickly to whether Brazilian authorities would seek international cooperation or issue further measures to locate the defeated candidate and ensure his compliance with the court's orders.