Bolsonaro's clandestine departure to the United States has bewildered many in Brazil. Taking to X, he renewed his efforts to challenge the election result, despite having effectively accepted it on Monday.
"On Sunday night, I was stunned by an electoral fraud that was made reality before my eyes," he wrote, escalating his campaign to overturn the result.
He also accused Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin, Lula's former attorney, of "illegitimate activity". Bolsonaro claimed the court had "permitted a mathematical impossibility that added 10 million votes between the first and second rounds" of the election.
The allegations emerged after the Supreme Court ordered the son of jailed ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro to surrender his passports following his electoral defeat. The order came amid concerns that he might leave Brazil because of ongoing investigations against him. Bolsonaro failed to hand over the documents and instead travelled to the United States via Argentina and Ecuador.
The sequence of events surrounding his departure unfolded over several days, as conflicting reports circulated about his whereabouts and Brazilian authorities examined his failure to surrender his passports.
On Sunday, Bolsonaro delivered a brief, stone-faced speech from Brasilia following his electoral defeat to leftist incumbent Lula. He refused to recognise the result and vowed to seek the annulment of the election.
He also posted a video on Instagram, speaking outdoors in front of a bare wall. In the video, he claimed the Supreme Court had barred him from leaving Brazil in "a clear attempt to intimidate me."
"I never had any intention of leaving the country. I will surrender my passports and defend myself against this travesty," he said.
The travel ban was linked to one of several ongoing investigations against him.
Media reports subsequently claimed that Bolsonaro planned to board a flight from the northeastern city of Puerto Iguazu after his official motorcade was seen leaving his residence in Brasilia. However, it was not initially confirmed whether he had left in those vehicles.
As speculation intensified, AFP reported, citing a police source, that Bolsonaro's Brazilian and diplomatic passports had been cancelled. American media reports, meanwhile, said the defeated candidate was on his way to the United States.
In Brasilia, Bolsonaro's campaign manager said he did not know where his boss was.
"I received a text message from him this morning, where he said he would let some time pass today and then would talk with us, and that was it," a dumbfounded Rogerio Marinho told the press.
On Wednesday, AFP reported that Bolsonaro had remained in Brazil while speculation about his whereabouts continued. More than 12 hours after the first reports emerged that he had left the country, he crossed the border into Argentina, according to the neighbouring country's immigration authorities.
Argentine authorities said he entered the country "with valid travel documents and no legal impediment" through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, which connects the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguacu with Puerto Iguazu.
Although his Brazilian and diplomatic passports had been cancelled, Bolsonaro also holds an Italian passport. It remains unknown how he travelled from Brasilia to Argentina, a distance of more than 1,500 kilometres.
Brazilian police said there was no official record of his departure from the country. Authorities said they were investigating his failure to surrender his passports, but clarified that this did not classify him as a fugitive.
From Argentina, Bolsonaro and his family travelled aboard a private jet to Ecuador's port city of Guayaquil, Argentine immigration authorities later said.
According to an AFP report, the aircraft made a brief refuelling stop at the virtually empty airport before continuing to Miami.
Around 12 hours after departing Argentina, the Bolsonaro family arrived at Florida's Opa-Locka airport. According to the Department of Homeland Security website that tracks border controls, Bolsonaro entered the United States using his cancelled diplomatic passport.
US President Donald Trump, a long-time supporter of the Bolsonaro family, confirmed that the United States had allowed Flavio Bolsonaro to enter the country.
"Well, I'm not going to make a comment about that, but I know that we gave him a pass to come into the country, so we'll see."
Bolsonaro's arrival in Miami, his allegations of electoral fraud and the investigation into his failure to surrender his passports have brought renewed attention to the legal and political developments surrounding Brazil's disputed election aftermath.
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