Key facts
- Brazil summoned Argentina's charge d'affaires on Thursday.
- Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, flew to the US via Ecuador.
- Bolsonaro's departure violated a Supreme Court order to surrender his passport.
- Argentina's Foreign Affairs Minister denied Brazil's summoning claim.
Brazil summoned Argentina's top diplomat in Brasilia to explain the South American nation's alleged role in Senator Flavio Bolsonaro's departure to the US, two government sources said on Friday. Argentina's Foreign Affairs Minister Pablo Quirno denied the summoning.
Senator Bolsonaro, son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro, arrived in the US on Wednesday morning after leaving Brazil. Argentine authorities said that Bolsonaro, his wife and two daughters crossed a bridge into northern Argentina on Tuesday evening before boarding a chartered aircraft. Bolsonaro and his family then flew to Miami via Ecuador.
In a letter released on Wednesday, Bolsonaro thanked Argentine President Javier Milei for his assistance, without providing further details. Milei has repeatedly insulted Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, prompting Brasilia to permanently recall its ambassador to Argentina.
Bolsonaro's departure from Brazil violated a Supreme Court order requiring him to surrender his passports and remain in Brazil as part of a money-laundering probe.