Brazil's defeated presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro has landed in the United States with his wife and two daughters, days after losing Sunday's election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and in open defiance of a Supreme Court order that he hand over his passports.

The senator's private flight touched down at Opa-Locka Executive Airport near Miami at about 9.30am local time on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. Washington has said it will grant the family entry visas, and President Donald Trump told reporters he "would approve" of Bolsonaro coming to the US.

A dash across two borders

Argentine authorities said Bolsonaro crossed into northern Argentina late on Tuesday night and, less than an hour later, boarded a private jet bound for Guayaquil in Ecuador. From there the plane flew on to Florida.

His departure came shortly after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered him to surrender both his regular and diplomatic passports and remain in Brazil as part of a money-laundering investigation. Brazilian federal police later said the passports had been cancelled after he failed to meet the court's deadline. Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing.

As a sitting senator he enjoys immunity, but he gave up his seat to run for the presidency and is due to lose that protection in January.

Fraud claims without evidence

In a statement after landing, Bolsonaro thanked Trump, described himself as "the true elected president of Brazil" and said he would lead the opposition from abroad. He called the corruption allegations "a politically motivated witch-hunt, intended to hold me hostage" and urged the international community "not to normalise what is happening in Brazil".

He had earlier posted an open letter on X calling himself the elected president, then deleted it and instead described himself as Brazil's rightful leader, accusing those who "stole" the vote of running a criminal organisation. He has offered no evidence of fraud.

Lula's victory, by roughly 4.4 million votes according to the New York Times, has been recognised by Brazil's federal electoral court, international observers, foreign governments and even Bolsonaro's own party.

Lula hits out

Lula said he regretted the departure, arguing that Bolsonaro could have stayed at home and shown the accusations against him were untrue. He called the move "shameful" and has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaro family.

Brazil and the United States have an extradition treaty, but Trump has repeatedly spoken warmly of the family and has previously claimed that Flávio's father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, was a victim of judicial persecution.

History repeating

The flight to Florida mirrors that of Jair Bolsonaro, who left for the US after losing the 2022 election to Lula. The elder Bolsonaro later returned home and is now under house arrest in Brazil.

The episode is likely to deepen tensions between Brasília and Washington as Lula prepares for a new term, with his camp warning against foreign interference in Brazil's democratic process.

Photos: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Reuters via Al Jazeera; Ricardo Stuckert/Brazilian Presidency via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.