U.S. authorities granted Flavio Bolsonaro and his family humanitarian parole, but the Trump administration has no current plan to support his bid to lead Brazil, Reuters reported Oct. 30.
One U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Trump might still take a different view. A third U.S. official said Bolsonaro’s political standing had weakened since he left Brazil, as some conservatives who expected him to lead the opposition criticized his departure.
While Bolsonaro traveled, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Trump to admit him, and the president approved the recommendation, Reuters reported, citing a U.S. official. The official said authorities later granted humanitarian parole to Bolsonaro and his family at the border. He described parole as a temporary entry measure for urgent humanitarian needs or significant public interest. Jason Miller, a Trump adviser close to the family, helped set up their charter flight out of Argentina, according to the person familiar with the matter.
A justice of Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passport after federal police sought the measure in investigations into two alleged money-laundering schemes, Reuters reported. In a letter posted on X on Oct. 28, Bolsonaro first described himself as “the elected president.” A later version instead called him Brazil’s rightful “leader.”
Former President Jair Bolsonaro, Flavio’s father, is imprisoned in Brazil over an attempted self-coup that followed his 2022 election defeat, Reuters reported. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won reelection by 3.5 percentage points. Trump said he had not endorsed a candidate, but told reporters Monday, “I just think it had a very bad look, the election.”
Reuters cited Brazilian officials who said Lula could benefit from Bolsonaro’s departure because it may weaken the conservative opposition in Congress. The outlet also reported that Brazil objected to U.S. actions it viewed as attempts to bolster Bolsonaro’s campaign. Washington later lifted sanctions on a judge overseeing Jair Bolsonaro’s trial and other Brazilian officials after a cordial encounter between Trump and Lula at the U.N. General Assembly.
