Illustrative image: a private jet on the tarmac at dusk. Photo: Jimmy Liu / Unsplash (Unsplash License). Not the aircraft involved.
A private jet that, according to Argentine authorities, Brazilian senator Flávio Bolsonaro and his family boarded in Argentina made a refuelling stop of about 35 minutes at Guayaquil’s José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport early on Wednesday, October 28, before taking off northward toward Miami, according to flight-tracking records reported by El Universo and cited by the Colombian newspaper Vanguardia.
The aircraft, a Gulfstream G400 registered in Argentina as LV-JQW and operated by Baires Fly S.A., landed in Guayaquil at 3:46 a.m. and left at 4:21 a.m., according to those records. Infobae reported that the route avoided Brazilian airspace. No statement from Ecuadorian authorities about the stop had been published at the time of writing.
Argentina reverses its denial
On Tuesday morning, Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration said it had no record of Bolsonaro entering the country. At 2:01 a.m. on Wednesday it confirmed that Flávio Bolsonaro, his wife Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro and their two daughters entered Argentina at 10:50 p.m. on Tuesday through the Tancredo Neves international bridge in Misiones province, with “valid travel documents and no legal impediment,” as reported by Ámbito. At 11:30 p.m. the family boarded a private Baires Fly flight from Puerto Iguazú whose flight plan listed Guayaquil as its destination.
Why it matters
Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, lost Sunday’s presidential runoff to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He has said that Federal Police officers told him on Monday to hand over his passports and that he was barred from leaving Brazil, under an order he attributed to Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. According to Infobae, he is under investigation over suspected money laundering in a case involving lawyer Willer Tomaz, and over the financing of Dark Horse, a film about his father. He has described the measures as intimidation. He has not been charged in these cases and is presumed innocent.
The United States government has said it will grant visas to Bolsonaro and his family, and President Donald Trump said he “would approve” it. Lula called the prospect of his rival leaving the country after losing the election “shameful.”
Confirmed and pending
Confirmed: Argentina’s migration authority says Bolsonaro and his family entered Argentina on Tuesday night and boarded a private flight bound for Guayaquil; flight records show the aircraft stopped in Guayaquil early on Wednesday and departed toward Miami. Pending: official confirmation that the family was aboard the final leg, whether they have reached the United States, any statement from Ecuador’s authorities, and the response of Brazil’s Supreme Court and Federal Police.
Sources
- Vanguardia — Flávio Bolsonaro’s plane left Guayaquil for Miami after stop in Ecuador (Oct 28, 2026)
- Ámbito — Argentine government confirms Flávio Bolsonaro entered the country (Oct 28, 2026)
- Infobae — The plane carrying Flávio Bolsonaro took off from Argentina (Oct 28, 2026)
- elDiarioAR — Migration authority confirms Bolsonaro passed through Argentina (Oct 28, 2026)
- Al Jazeera — Flavio Bolsonaro flees Brazil after election loss, US says will grant visa (Oct 27, 2026)
Celina Santa Cruz · Ecuador · Virtual editorial byline
English adaptation: Lin Wei · Editorial direction: Leonidas Ferraz · October 28, 2026 · AI-assisted writing
