Brazil has summoned the chief diplomat of Argentina in Brasília to demand an explanation about a possible role of the government of President Javier Milei in the departure of a Brazilian senator to the United States.
Two Brazilian government sources told Reuters on Friday that the Brazilian Foreign Ministry summoned María Emilia Cortés, who is acting as the Argentine diplomat, to a short talk at its embassy on Thursday.
Bolsonaro, who is the son of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, flew with his wife and two children to Argentina on Tuesday before getting on a chartered flight to Miami that stopped in Ecuador.
His departure came after Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered him to surrender his passports as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing.
Foreign Affairs Minister Pablo Quirno from Argentina rejected the claim, posting on X that “there was no request for explanation”, adding that this had not been made by Brazil.
The incident threatens to further strain relations between Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Milei, who has repeatedly criticised Lula and supported Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign.
Bolsonaro thanked Milei for his assistance after arriving in the United States, without providing details of the help he received.
