Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro said he arranged his trip to the United States himself and received no help from any government, despite a White House aide saying he arranged the family’s private jet. (Foto: Instagram)
In his first interview since leaving Brazil, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro gave few details about how he reached the United States. Speaking to The New York Times, he said he arranged the trip himself and denied receiving help from any government.
“It was all my doing,” Flávio said, adding that “absolutely no one, no government” had helped him. Asked how he made it to the United States, he declined to provide details, saying he would take the answer “to the grave.” He also said his decision to leave Brazil was made spontaneously and that no one directly helped organize the trip. “There may have been people rooting for me, but nothing beyond that,” he said.
The account contrasts with a statement last week from Jason Miller, a White House communications aide and ally of President Donald Trump. Miller confirmed that he arranged the private jet Flávio and his family used to leave Brazil. Trump has publicly confirmed that he authorized the senator’s entry into the United States.
Flávio, his wife, Fernanda Bolsonaro, and their two daughters arrived in the United States on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 28. They traveled by private plane from Argentina, stopped in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and continued to Miami, landing at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. The family entered the United States through a process known as parole, which allows some foreign nationals to remain temporarily in the country in specific circumstances, including urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.
Before the flight, Flávio crossed from Brazil into Argentina at the Tancredo Neves International Bridge in Misiones. Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration said he entered the country at 10:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and left about 40 minutes later. According to the agency, all four family members presented valid travel documents and had no legal impediment to entering Argentina. They then boarded a private flight operated by Baires Fly bound for Ecuador.
The trip took place after Brazil’s Federal Police requested that Flávio turn over his passports. Brazilian authorities began investigating his departure from the country.
