BRAZILIA—Brazil’s Foreign Ministry received Argentina’s charge‑d’affaires, Maria Emilia Cortes, on Thursday afternoon to discuss the disappearance of Senator Flavio Bolsonaro after his family’s private flight to the United States.
According to a Xinhua report, the Brazilian government is asking the Argentine side to clarify how the senator left the country following his defeat in the runoff on Sunday, 25 October. The senator landed in the United States on a private plane that reportedly departed from Argentine territory on Tuesday night, two days after Brazil’s presidential election.
Confirmed facts include: the senator’s family departed from Argentina on a private plane; Argentina confirmed the departure from its airspace; Brazil has summoned the Argentine charge‑d’affaires to demand explanation. Unconfirmed aspects involve the Argentine government’s exact role in facilitating the departure and whether any official authorization was provided.
The move follows comments by Argentine President Javier Milei, who criticized Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula and publicly expressed support for Bolsonaro during the campaign. If the Brazilian government finds evidence of Argentine involvement beyond public statements, it could affect diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Argentina’s Foreign Ministry has not released a statement after the meeting, but the confirmation of the plane’s departure suggests that the flight was a routine, private operation. Brazil’s diplomatic cable notes uncertainty about whether Argentine officials assisted Bolsonaro in arranging his exit, a matter still under investigation.
The incident comes at a time of heightened tension between Brazil and Argentina, with the two leaders exchanging public criticisms about each other’s domestic politics. The outcome of the inquiry into Bolsonaro’s departure could influence the climate of diplomatic engagement between the neighboring nations.
