Rubio Says US Didn't Help Flavio Bolsonaro Get to Miami

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is pushing back on the idea that Washington rolled out the red carpet for Flavio Bolsonaro. Speaking to reporters in Atlanta, where G20 foreign ministers had gathered, Rubio said flatly: the US didn't help him get here. He said Bolsonaro already held a visa, and that President Trump made the call to let him in.

Rubio added that his government wasn't involved in any of the moves that got Bolsonaro out of Brazil. He also confirmed he'd crossed paths with Brazil's foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, in Atlanta on both Friday and Saturday, and expects to see Brazilian officials again in France in November for a foreign ministers' meeting.

Bolsonaro touched down in Miami on Wednesday, one day after the State Department said he and his family would be granted US visas. His departure followed a weekend election loss to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the 45-year-old senator and son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

He isn't going quietly. Bolsonaro has refused to concede and, without offering evidence, called the election fraudulent. In a Wednesday letter he crowned himself the 'true president-elect of Brazil,' a phrase he later walked back to 'leader.' On an Instagram livestream Friday he repeated his claim that he's the victim of persecution.

Back home, the heat is real. Bolsonaro is under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, and was ordered to hand over his passport after police flagged him as a flight risk. He loses his Senate seat representing Rio de Janeiro when Brazil's new legislature convenes on February 1.

The family playbook looks familiar. His father, Jair Bolsonaro, also refused to acknowledge his 2022 loss to Lula and is now serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup.