U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained Alexandre Ramagem in Florida this week, according to reports from the Brazilian Federal Police and Brazilian media outlets.
Ramagem, a former deputy and former head of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) under Jair Bolsonaro, is facing a 16-year prison sentence in Brazil. The conviction stems from his involvement in a coup plot intended to prevent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office following the 2022 elections.
The Brazilian Federal Police stated that the arrest was the result of "la cooperación policial internacional" between the two nations. The Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security also confirmed the operation.
While Brazilian authorities are seeking his extradition, some political allies of the former deputy suggest the detention may have stemmed from different circumstances. Paulo Figueiredo, a Bolsonaro ally living in the United States, claimed the arrest was not related to the extradition request.
“Ramagem was not arrested, but detained following a police approach in Orlando, initially for a minor traffic infraction and, subsequently, was referred to ICE – a common procedure in Florida,” Figueiredo said in a social media post.
He added that Ramagem has a pending asylum application and is optimistic that he will be released “as soon as possible” rather than deported.
Flight from Brazil
Ramagem fled Brazil in September, shortly after his conviction. According to local press, he traveled clandestinely from the state of Roraima, near the Venezuelan border, through Guyana by land, before flying to the United States.
The Brazilian government began the formal process to request his extradition in December. In tandem with these legal efforts, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies stripped him of his seat and annulled his diplomatic passport.
Prosecutors allege that during his tenure as intelligence chief from 2019 to 2022, Ramagem established a parallel secret service to monitor political opponents.
Ramagem is not the only high-profile figure from the Bolsonaro administration currently evading Brazilian justice. In December, Silvinei Vasques, the former director of Brazil's Highway Police, was arrested in Paraguay while attempting to flee to El Salvador. Vasques faces a prison sentence of 24 years and six months for his role in the same coup conspiracy.
Furthermore, approximately 50 individuals convicted of the January 8, 2023, attacks on Brazil's government buildings have fled to Argentina. While many are being sought by Brazilian authorities, some have found refuge.
Argentine authorities granted refugee status to Joel Borges Correa, who fled Brazil in mid-2024 following his conviction for the Brasília attacks. The Brazilian Supreme Court has characterized these attacks as the climax of the coup plot led by Bolsonaro.
Former President Jair Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence following his own conviction in September. His allies have characterized his legal proceedings as a "political witch hunt."
