Alexandre Ramagem, the former head of Brazilian intelligence, has been apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after fleeing Brazil. Ramagem was convicted of conspiring to stage a coup alongside former President Jair Bolsonaro, as confirmed by authorities and media sources.
In September, Ramagem received a 16-year prison sentence for his involvement in an attempt to overturn the 2022 election of leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. However, before he could begin serving his sentence, Ramagem escaped from Brazil, according to the country’s federal police.
Ramagem’s name surfaced on ICE’s online detainee database on Monday, categorizing him as a foreign fugitive. The database did not disclose his exact location or where he was captured.
Brazil’s federal police issued an early Monday statement revealing that a “fugitive of the country’s justice,” recently sentenced by the nation’s supreme court, had been captured in Orlando. The statement refrained from mentioning Ramagem by name.
Officials credited the arrest to the collaborative efforts between Brazilian and U.S. law enforcement agencies.
Paulo Figueiredo, an ally of Bolsonaro residing in the U.S., posted on X that Ramagem was detained after a “minor traffic infraction” led to his referral to ICE. However, this account remains unverified.
Investigators learned that Ramagen, 53, used spy software to track the locations of Supreme Court justices, lawmakers, journalists, and public officials, and monitored investigations involving Bolsonaro’s sons to keep an eye on the former president’s opponents, the Guardian reported.
He lost his federal police position and was stripped of his mandate as a congressman in Brazil’s lower house after his conviction, the outlet reported.
Brazilian Sen. Jorge Seif wrote on social media that he’s informed the US embassy in Brazil that the former Federal Police inspector should not stay in custody since he was being persecuted in his native country.
“The political persecution against President Bolsonaro, his sons, and his allies is now hitting an elected lawmaker in foreign soil,” Seif said.
“In our document (to the U.S. embassy), we showed all the reasons that justify and defend the concession of political asylum to Ramagem and his family.”
ICE did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment or details on his arrest.
With Post wires
