U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly insisted that the Trump administration did not assist or directly coordinate Flávio Bolsonaro’s sudden departure from Brazil following his election defeat.
Speaking to the press, Rubio clarified that Washington was not involved in the logistics of the Brazilian politician’s flight to Miami, though he noted that President Donald Trump later authorized his entry, stating that Bolsonaro could remain in the U.S. “as long as he wants”.
The comments come amid rising diplomatic sensitivity surrounding the arrival of Bolsonaro—who faces mounting investigations back home—with the State Department pushing back against claims that the U.S. government actively orchestrated or facilitated his exit from Brazil.
Bolsonaro arrived in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday, a day after the US Department of State said Bolsonaro and his family would be granted US visas after his October 25 election loss, which bucked a trend of conservative electoral wins in Latin America.
Bolsonaro is under investigation in Brazil for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, and before leaving, he had been ordered to surrender his passport because police deemed him a flight risk.
“We didn’t facilitate anything,” Rubio told reporters on Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia, where diplomats from the Group of 20 largest world economies were gathered.
“We had word that he had arrived in the United States. He had previously held a visa, and the president made a decision to allow him to enter the country,” Rubio said.
He added that the US government was not “involved directly in any of the moves that were made”.
Rubio also said he had seen Brazil’s foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, in Atlanta on Friday and Saturday and he expected to see Brazilian officials again in November in France during a foreign ministers meeting.
