Brazil’s ex-spy chief arrested in US after fleeing 16-year sentence for coup plot

Alexandre Ramagem, the former head of Brazil’s intelligence agency (ABIN) and a staunch ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro, was arrested on Monday by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Orlando, Florida.

Ramagem, who had been living in the US since last year, is a high-profile fugitive from Brazilian justice. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in a coup plot aimed at overturning the 2022 election results to keep Bolsonaro in power.

When Bolsonaro was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison for the attempted coup, six other Cabinet members were also convicted and began serving their sentences. Ramagem was the sole exception. Days before the verdict was delivered, the former spy chief is said to have fled by car to Guyana before boarding a flight to the US.

The director of the Brazilian Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, confirmed the arrest to local media, characterizing it as a success for “Brazil-US cooperation in the fight against organized crime.”

While the Brazilian government framed the arrest as a coordinated judicial effort, allies of the former president offered a different version of events. Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the former president, dismissed the political nature of the arrest, calling it a “purely migratory matter.” He maintained that Ramagem was in the country legally while awaiting confirmation of his asylum status.

ICE’s website currently lists Ramagem as being “in ICE custody,” though it has not released specific details regarding the grounds for his detention.

Journalist and Bolsonaro ally Paulo Figueiredo claimed the detention was not a planned operation but rather the result of a routine traffic stop. Figueiredo insists Ramagem possesses legal status and has a pending asylum request under review.

As the former head of ABIN, Ramagem was identified by investigators as a central figure in the “core group” behind the 2022 coup plot. His conviction involves the misuse of state intelligence tools to monitor political opponents and undermine the legitimacy of the electoral process that saw Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva return to the presidency.

The Brazilian government is expected to move forward with a formal extradition request to ensure Ramagem serves his 16-year sentence in Brazil.