Defeated Flávio Bolsonaro leaves Brazil as Washington grants his family visas

Flávio Bolsonaro, the right-wing candidate who narrowly lost Brazil's presidential election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday, has left the country. De Tijd reports that he departed with his family even though Brazil's Supreme Court had barred him from doing so. The US State Department confirmed that he and his family will receive visas. President Donald Trump described the family as nice people and the election as strange, according to HLN.

Exactly where he is now remains unclear. De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad, citing Brazilian media, report that he arrived in Miami, where his brother Eduardo lives. VRT NWS, however, quotes Argentina's migration service, which says he crossed the border with valid documents on Tuesday evening and shortly afterwards boarded a private plane to Guayaquil in Ecuador. Whether he travelled on from there to the US is not known.

The departure is sensitive. Bolsonaro had been given 24 hours to hand in his passports, and he faces investigations into corruption and money laundering. When his term as a senator ends in January, he will also lose his immunity, VRT NWS notes. RTBF reports that his passports have since been cancelled and that a Supreme Court judge has ordered an inquiry into possible foreign funding of his campaign. Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, called leaving the country shameful, La Libre reports.