US immigration authorities on Monday detained a former Brazilian intelligence chief who fled to the United States after being convicted for his role in a coup plot.
Alexandre Ramagem was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in a failed plan to overturn Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 2022 election victory over Jair Bolsonaro. He fled to Brazil before being arrested.
Ramagen, a former police officer, took command of Brazil’s main intelligence agency, ABIN, under Bolsonaro.
He is listed in custody on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website. ICE has not provided any other details about Ramagem’s detention.
What did Brazilian officials say?
The Brazilian man, whose arrest was sought by that country’s authorities, was arrested by ICE in Orlando, Florida, Brazilian federal police said in a statement on Monday.
Police did not identify the man, but said he had been convicted by Brazil’s Supreme Court of plotting a coup.
Brazilian Federal Police said the detention was the result of cooperation between law enforcement in the two countries.
Brazil formally requested Ramajem’s extradition in December.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko