// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Flávio Bolsonaro lands in Miami after defeat in Brazil's presidential election
Watch: Bolsonaro shielded from media by umbrellas at Florida airport
Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has flown to Miami after losing the country's presidential election on Sunday.
His arrival in Florida ends days of confusion over his whereabouts, after he was reported to have travelled to Argentina, and then prematurely reported to have already entered the US on Tuesday.
The US has said it would grant visas to Bolsonaro and his family, who travelled with him. Brazil cancelled his passport, after he failed to surrender it to police, due to an ongoing criminal investigation. He has denied any wrongdoing.
In his first statement since leaving Brazil, Bolsonaro cast himself as the "leader" of the country, and thanked America for granting entry to his family.
Newly reelected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has criticised the departure, saying "those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear".
In a statement, distributed by the right-wing Brazilian influencer Paulo Figueiredo, Bolsonaro thanked both the presidents of Argentina and the US, and the American public "who share the same values as the good people of my own country".
"It was never my intention to leave my homeland, but I know exactly where this is heading," he said.
He repeated unsubstantiated allegations of "electoral fraud" which he said allowed a "mathematical impossibility" to occur in the election.
He called himself a victim of a coup d'état and political persecution, and said his travel to the US was to protect his family.