Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who lost the country's presidential election, has reportedly left Brazil for the United States, and a senior US State Department official said on Tuesday that the Trump administration will issue visas to him and his family.
According to sources, the move came a day after Brazil's Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports as part of a money laundering investigation. He denies wrongdoing, and on Monday said he had "never thought about leaving the country" and would stay to lead the opposition.
The son of former president Jair Bolsonaro lost the October 25 run-off to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by more than 4.4 million votes. He at first refused to recognise the result and spoke of seeking its annulment, but his party said on Monday that it accepted the outcome.
Speaking in Brasilia on his 81st birthday, Lula called the departure shameful and said Bolsonaro should have stayed to prove his innocence. "A person who sneaks out of their country must have something to hide," he said.
US President Donald Trump cast doubt on the vote, saying it "looked like another rigged election", although no evidence of wrongdoing has emerged. US Democratic congressman Joaquin Castro demanded that the administration explain to Congress what role it played in Bolsonaro's exit.