Fugitive former Brazilian intelligence chief released after being detained by ICE, associates say
By Michael Rios, Max Saltman, CNN
(CNN) — Brazil’s fugitive former intelligence chief and lawmaker Alexandre Ramagem has been released from custody after being detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, his associates said Wednesday.
Ramagem, who faces a 16-year prison sentence in Brazil for his alleged involvement in a coup plot with far-right ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, has been living in exile in Florida in recent months.
His release was announced by journalist Paulo Figueiredo, an ally of Bolsonaro, and by the former president’s son Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has also been living in exile in the US. Both men credited US President Donald Trump and his administration for the release.
Figueiredo said Ramagem will not face any criminal proceedings, claiming authorities had verified he has legal status in the US.
ICE’s website said Monday that Ramagem was “in ICE custody,” but did not provide further details. By Wednesday night, his name no longer appeared in the agency’s online detainee locator system.
In earlier comments to CNN, Figueiredo had said that Immigrex, a company where he is a partner, was providing legal representation to Ramagem. He said Ramagem had been detained after a traffic stop and subsequently referred to ICE – adding that Ramagem had a pending asylum request under review.
Following Ramagem’s detention, on Monday Brazil’s federal police claimed he had been “arrested” in what was an example of “international police cooperation between Brazil and the United States in the fight against organized crime.”
Figueiredo, however, denied that claim.
CNN has reached out to the US Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, the Brazilian presidency and federal police for more information.
Ramagem, who served as director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency under Bolsonaro, attended a security forum at a Trump golf resort in Miami last month.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reacted to the detention Tuesday, saying that Ramagem ought to return to Brazil and serve out his prison sentence.
Ramagem’s detention came shortly after Lula had announced a new agreement with US authorities to crack down on organized crime.
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CNN’s Julia Vargas Jones contributed to this report.
