Right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost Brazil’s presidential election, has defied a court-imposed travel ban and was heading to the US, according to US media reports.

AFP reported that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday (27 October) that his defeated rival’s conduct would be shameful if he had indeed fled the country.

CNN reported the same day, citing an unnamed official, that Bolsonaro, 45, had left Brazil and was on his way to the US state of Florida. The Washington Post separately reported that Flavio had entered the US on Tuesday evening, but did not specify where.

Brazilian police have yet to confirm that Bolsonaro has left the country. A police source told AFP that both his ordinary Brazilian passport and his diplomatic passport had been cancelled, and there was no official record of his departure.

Italian parliamentary documents reviewed by AFP show that Bolsonaro has held Italian citizenship since 2023.

The US State Department said on Tuesday that it would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, but did not confirm his travel plans.

Bolsonaro, son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, lost to Lula in Sunday’s (25 October) presidential election, and refused to concede, saying he would seek to overturn the result.

Bolsonaro revealed on Monday that a Brazilian Supreme Court judge had ordered him to surrender his passports. He is under investigation for suspected corruption and money laundering, and the election defeat also means he will lose his parliamentary immunity.

In a video posted on social media at the time, he criticised the travel ban as an intimidation tactic and stressed that he had never intended to leave Brazil and was willing to surrender his passports and defend himself.

His campaign manager Marinho said on Tuesday that he was unaware of his whereabouts and shocked by reports that Bolsonaro appeared to have left Brazil. He said he had received a text message from Bolsonaro that morning saying he would contact the team later, but had heard nothing since.

Lula, in Brasilia on Tuesday to celebrate his 81st birthday, said, “A person who sneaks out of their country must have something to hide. The act of leaving Brazil is shameful.”

Lula defeated Bolsonaro in the general election with 51.8% of the vote. US President Donald Trump subsequently made unsubstantiated claims that the election appeared to have been rigged.