US immigration officers detained former Brazilian intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem on Monday after he fled to the United States following a conviction in Brazil.
Ramagem was sentenced to 16 years in prison by Brazil’s Supreme Court for his role in a failed plot to overturn Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 2022 election victory over Jair Bolsonaro. He left Brazil before authorities could take him into custody. A former police officer, Ramagem led Brazil’s main intelligence agency, ABIN, during Bolsonaro’s presidency.
Ramagem is listed as being in custody on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website, but ICE has not provided additional details about the circumstances of his detention.
Brazil’s Federal Police said on Monday that a Brazilian man sought by that country’s authorities was arrested in Orlando, Florida, by ICE. The statement did not name the individual but said he had been convicted by Brazil’s Supreme Court of plotting a coup and that the arrest resulted from cooperation between Brazilian and US law enforcement.
Brazil formally requested Ramagem’s extradition in December.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko