Flávio Bolsonaro denies fleeing Brazil after landing in Miami
The defeated Brazilian candidate claims to be the victim of a coup d’état and political persecution, recycling unsubstantiated allegations of “electoral fraud”.
Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who landed in Miami after losing the presidential election on Sunday, has said it was never his intention to "leave my homeland".
"I did not flee Brazil; I left for the sake of Brazil," he said in his first statement since leaving the country.
The US provided visas to him and his family, and on Wednesday US President Donald Trump told reporters: "We gave him a pass to come into the country".
For a little while, it seemed like Bolsonaro may just be keeping an uncharacteristically low profile after being unexpectedly beaten by his left-wing rival in the presidential run-off vote on Sunday.