Rubio: US Did Not Arrange Bolsonaro's Flight

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. government did not help move Brazilian Senate candidate Flávio Bolsonaro to Miami this week. Bolsonaro arrived Wednesday, a day after the State Department said he and his family would get U.S. visas after the weekend election.

Rubio spoke to reporters in Atlanta, where diplomats from the Group of 20 largest economies met. "We didn't facilitate anything," he said. He added that Bolsonaro already held a visa and that President Donald Trump made the call to let him enter. Rubio said the U.S. government was not "involved directly in any of the moves that were made."

Bolsonaro lost the presidential race to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He has not conceded and has called the election fraudulent without offering evidence. In a Wednesday letter, the 45-year-old called himself the "true president-elect of Brazil," a title he later changed to "leader." In a Friday Instagram livestream, he said he is being persecuted.

Bolsonaro is under investigation in Brazil for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. Police had ordered him to surrender his passport after judging him a flight risk. His father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, also refused to accept his 2022 loss to Lula and is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup.

Rubio said he met Brazil's foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, in Atlanta on Friday and Saturday. He expects to see Brazilian officials again in France in November, when France hosts a meeting of foreign ministers.

Bolsonaro held a seat in the Rio de Janeiro senate. He loses that seat when Brazil's new legislature starts Feb. 1.