Marco Rubio denies United States role in Flavio Bolsonaro flight

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied on Saturday that the Trump administration facilitated the flight of defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro to the United States. According to UPI, The Hindu, Jamaica Observer, Anadolu Ajansı, and the Hindustan Times, Rubio stated that the United States was not directly involved in Bolsonaro leaving the country. Rubio told reporters that officials did not facilitate anything, UPI and the Hindustan Times reported. [1][4][5][6][11]

The denial follows reports in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal alleging that White House communications aide Jason Miller arranged a private jet to transport Bolsonaro to Miami, UPI reported. Bolsonaro left Brazil days after losing a presidential runoff election to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, according to UPI. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Lula won the runoff after trailing in the first round of voting, and Bolsonaro initially refused to recognise the result. [1][15][16]

In the wake of the flight, Rubio and Brazil foreign minister agreed to meet following tensions over the election, according to ThePrint and Bloomberg. BSS reported that United States President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei faced pressure to explain Bolsonaro leaving Brazil. Meanwhile, Sight Magazine and Reuters reported that sources said Trump is not planning to back Bolsonaro claims to be the leader of Brazil. [2][3][7][8][10]

Marco Rubio is an American politician and diplomat serving as the 72nd United States secretary of state and the 30th United States national security advisor. The 2026 Brazilian general election held a runoff on October 25 after no candidate secured a majority in the first round on October 4. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Trump previously claimed without evidence that the Brazilian election looked rigged after Lula defeated Bolsonaro. [13][15][17]