By Raul Kollmann on November 1, 2026
Miliei with Flavio Bolsonaro
The spy had worked that th US embassy in Buenos Aires. Marco Rubio distanced himself from the operation to avoid a confrontation with Lula da Silva and Brazil prefers to ignore Javier Milei. Enter the role of Santiago Caputo.
The Argentine government did not simply “let Flavio Bolsonaro slip through”: it orchestrated the escape and played a key role in organizing it. The coordinator was a SIDE agent, J.M.B. (a surname of German origin that is not disclosed for legal reasons), who had worked at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires. He joined the SIDE during Javier Milei’s tenure, but there are those who believe he is a U.S. agent embedded within the intelligence agency. Moreover, they claim he holds dual citizenship. At the SIDE, he was assigned to Ezeiza, a key location because the U.S. CIA is obsessed with the arrival of Russians in the country and because airports are strategic in every sense. As is evident, at Ezeiza he worked closely with the Airport Security Police (PSA), which is why he was assigned to coordinate Operation Flavio: serving as the liaison with the PSA, the Americans, and Bolsonaro’s security detail. Santiago Caputo oversaw the operation, as recorded in the report from Regional Unit IV, Capioví Radio Command, which states, verbatim, “Santiago Luis Caputo was traveling in the vehicle and requested that delays in his transfer be avoided.” They stopped the Toyota Hiace at 2:50 a.m. on Wednesday. The other key part of the operation was handled by the United States, which, according to the New York Times, paid for the plane through James Miller, a White House communications official. This Saturday, Marco Rubio maintained that the United States had no direct involvement, but at the same time stated that Donald Trump decided to allow Bolsonaro to enter the U.S. In other words, Washington handled the most important part: authorizing the flight. In Brasília, meanwhile, officials are downplaying the issue and minimizing anything linked to Javier Milei.
The Architects
It is clear that the Argentine government and the Trump administration jointly organized the escape. The New York daily reports that Miller, a member of the U.S. presidential team, was behind the American broker who paid for the trip, and Bolsonaro was subsequently authorized to enter the United States on “a temporary visa for humanitarian reasons.” U.S. Immigration authorities validated the Brazilian diplomatic passport that Bolsonaro was carrying, and the passport was immediately invalidated by the Americans themselves. It is clear that he will be granted a permanent visa, just like his brother Eduardo.
This Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio came forward to distance himself from what is obvious: “The United States did not participate directly,” “Bolsonaro had a visa,” and “Trump authorized him to enter for that reason.” The denial seems crude: it’s obvious that the plane couldn’t have taken off without Trump’s approval, so they intervened in the key aspect—authorizing the trip. And, according to the NYT, they even paid for the flight, although some insist that the SIDE paid for it, using reserved funds and through a front man. But the Secretary of State’s statement reveals the underlying motive: Trump does not want a conflict with Lula. Just this past weekend, Rubio met with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in Atlanta.
On the Argentine side, much of the operation was carried out by agent J.M.B., who maintained contact with Flavio’s security detail, the PSA, and the Americans. They did not use the agents stationed in the Triple Frontier nor any of those who have been with the “House”—as they call the SIDE—for years. Instead, they used the individual with the German surname, who is almost an outsider but trusted by the bosses connected to Caputo Jr. For now, J.M.B. is new to the agency; he is not a career agent. The fact that he previously worked at the Embassy is raising eyebrows among the others, and the bigger issue is that he was assigned to one of the most coveted posts for agents, Ezeiza: “it brings power and business.” He was placed there by the Terminal Directorate, which, in turn, reports to Counterintelligence. According to sources at the SIDE, their CIA counterparts are obsessed with the arrival of Russians in Argentina, and it appears they favored having a man close to them stationed at the airport.
Also on the ground was presidential advisor Caputo, as reported by the C5N channel, which was able to film nearly the entire operation in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The journalists remained at the airport and kept their focus on the Gulfstream as rumors circulated that Bolsonaro was already arriving in Miami. That is why they were able to capture footage of the SUVs and the plane’s departure. The report from the Misiones police revealing Caputo’s presence in Iguazú states: “Police personnel were commissioned by the shift commander on duty that day to conduct a vehicle checkpoint on National Route 12, km 1460, in order to identify two vehicles and their occupants: a white Ford Ranger pickup truck, license plate AE027HE, belonging to the Yacyretá Binational Entity, driven by WAISMAN JORGE OMAR, ID No. 12,731,064, Head of Security for said entity; and a white Toyota Hiace, license plate I013RKB, driven by IGNACIO ORLANDO PALACIOS, ID No. 17,814,175, advisor to the General Secretariat of the EBY. Traveling in the latter vehicle was SANTIAGO LUIS CAPUTO, an Argentine political consultant and advisor to the President of Argentina, Javier Milei, who requested that delays be avoided during his transfer.” The report leaves no room for doubt. In Misiones, they say that if they had traveled more discreetly—not in a convoy of SUVs—no one would have detected them. “They made too much noise,” say the Misiones police.
As is well known, Waisman and Palacios lived in Miami—Waisman was a police officer—and went on to work for the Binational Entity in security positions. It is said that both also hold dual citizenship. As can be seen, most of those who were on the move that night had ties to the Americans.
The Escape
Flavio Bolsonaro held his last meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 26, the day after his defeat in the runoff election. According to reports, at 8:00 p.m. a convoy of vehicles carrying his family left his home in Brasília. This explains why, the following day, Tuesday the 27th, his daughters Luiza and Carolina were already absent from school.
That same Monday night, at 10:14 p.m., the Gulfstream G400 took off from Aeroparque bound for Iguazú, landing at 11:45 p.m. According to the flight plan submitted to the authorities, the aircraft was scheduled to continue on to Miami at 2 a.m. with four Brazilian passengers. In other words, the operation was planned for Monday night into early Tuesday morning.
The Brazilian government can’t believe it. They believe the plan was devised in advance and that it’s unusual because Bolsonaro had immunity—he’s a senator—until December. The whole situation strikes them as farcical and, in a way, favorable. This newspaper asked a spokesperson for Lula’s team how Bolsonaro managed to travel from Brasília to Foz do Iguaçu during his escape: “We don’t really care, to be honest.”
That’s Politics
As reported in Página 12 by journalist Paula Marussich, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry summoned Argentina’s chargé d’affaires in Brasília, María Emilia Cortés. The official repeated to the Mercosur director—an extremely low-ranking position for something supposedly so sensitive—the statement from the Immigration Office: that Bolsonaro had no arrest warrant and that, therefore, there was no irregularity. The meeting was brief and amounted to a sort of bureaucratic formality. The order was not to give it any significance and to make it clear that no explanations were being sought.
High-level sources at Itamaraty told this newspaper that they are downplaying what happened. They do not say so explicitly, but the idea is to snub Javier Milei, to assign him no significant role. Moreover, they circulated the story that Lula will invite Milei to the inauguration on January 5—something that is almost humiliating for the libertarian. The date was moved to the 5th due to a constitutional amendment: until now, it had always been January 1.
Officials at Itamaraty noted that, at the same time as the meeting with the Argentine chargé d’affaires, Secretary of State Rubio and Brazilian Foreign Minister Vieira were in Atlanta, United States. Not only did they hold talks and pose for photos, but they also agreed to meet before the G-20 summit in December in Miami. In the words of Brazilian officials: “We play in the big leagues and don’t get bogged down in petty squabbles.”
The one left in the lurch is Javier Milei’s government. It still refuses to recognize Lula’s victory, leading to even greater isolation than it already faces due to its insults and trips where, by now, almost no one is willing to receive him.
Source: Pagina 12, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English