Brazil summoned Argentina’s diplomatic representative in Brazil to ask about Flávio Bolsonaro’s trip through Argentina to the United States, adding tension between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government and Argentine President Javier Milei.
Brazilian diplomatic sources said the meeting with María Emilia Cortés took place Thursday. Argentina’s foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, denied that Brazil had officially asked for an explanation. Argentine authorities said Bolsonaro and his family crossed into northern Argentina on Tuesday.
They boarded a plane hired for the trip and traveled through Ecuador to Miami, where he arrived Wednesday. His departure came after a Brazilian judge ordered him to stay in the country and hand over his passports as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering. Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.
The senator lost Sunday’s presidential runoff to Lula. He has refused to accept the result and made claims of election irregularities without evidence. In a letter after arriving in the U.S., he thanked Milei for his support.
He did not explain what help he received. The diplomatic dispute comes while relations were already strained. Brazil recalled its ambassador to Argentina after Milei publicly insulted Lula.
The countries’ diplomatic relations were lowered to a lesser level. Brazil’s Foreign Ministry has not publicly commented on the reported meeting.