The former Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro left Brazil on Tuesday on a flight to the United States, according to a deputy from the Liberal Party. The trip would have taken place despite the Police canceling his passports on a day also marked by the Supreme Court's order to investigate him for alleged foreign funding of his electoral campaign.
The parliamentarian Mauricio Marcon stated that Bolsonaro "has taken a flight and is heading to exile in the United States" in a video posted on his social media, where he equated the situation of the far-right politician with that of the Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado.
"Just like María Corina Machado when she fled the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated candidate in the elections, is also seeking asylum in another country," he indicated.
According to Marcon, Bolsonaro would have arrived in the United States "through Venezuela or Argentina," a country from which he would have departed "through Venezuela or Argentina" to the United States, where he "will denounce the regime imposed by Lula, Xandão --referring to the Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes-- and all that group against the Brazilian people."
The deputy's message has spread after "allies" of the former candidate, here under condition of anonymity, explained to the newspaper 'Folha' that Flávio Bolsonaro was already en route to U.S. territory following a plan designed by one of his lawyers. Without additional official confirmation, other people from his circle claim that he is "out of communication" and whose exact whereabouts are unknown.
These sources detail that he would have left from the Argentine town of Puerto Iguazú, but not on the GulfStream plane on which his name appeared on the passenger list, a maneuver they describe as a distraction tactic.
The departure from the country coincides with the Police's decision to invalidate the former candidate's passports, after he did not deliver them within the established timeframe and investigations were initiated to locate him.
In parallel, the Supreme Court has urged the Federal Police to open a case to clarify the possible foreign funding of his campaign and the alleged manipulated use of the algorithm on social media with the aim of boosting his posts over those of other contenders.