Brazilian media report that Alexandre Ramagem fled the country after being convicted of involvement in a coup plot.
Published on 13 April 2026
The country’s former intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem has been detained by immigration authorities in the United States, where he fled after being convicted in connection with a coup plot against former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian media have reported.
Ramajem was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday, CNN Brazil reported, citing Brazilian federal police and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. Brazilian outlet Globo reported that the arrest took place in Florida.
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The Brazilian government has sought the extradition of Ramazem, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his involvement in efforts to keep Bolsonaro in power after he lost the country’s 2022 election to leftist rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Reports say Ramagame fled Brazil in September and illegally crossed the border into Guyana before taking a plane to the US.
The Brazilian Embassy in Washington, DC, filed documents with the US State Department seeking his extradition on December 30, 2025, Globo reported.
Paulo Figueiredo, a US-based political ally of Bolsonaro, said the detention was unrelated to Brazil’s extradition request.
“Ramagame was not arrested, but detained after a police approach in Orlando, initially for a minor traffic violation and later, referred to ICE – a common procedure in Florida,” Figueiredo said in a social media post.
He said Ramajem’s asylum application was pending and he hoped he would be released “as soon as possible” rather than deported.
Al Jazeera has not been able to confirm the reason for Ramagem’s arrest by US authorities.
Bolsonaro himself is serving a 27-year prison sentence after being convicted in September.
Their lawsuit was portrayed as a political witch-hunt by Bolsonaro’s allies, and drew the anger of US President Donald Trump, who has imposed huge tariffs on Brazil and called for the lawsuit to be dismissed. Trump later eased some of those tariffs after improving relations with President Lula.
