The court ordered this Wednesday (3) the extradition of five who were fugitives from Brazilian justice. The decision was given by the country’s No. 3 Criminal Court and is still subject to appeal.
The fugitive Brazilians are Joelton Gusmão de Oliveira and Wellington Luiz Firmino, sentenced to 17 years in prison; Ana Paula de Souza and Rodrigo de Freitas Moro Ramalho, sentenced to 14 years in prison; and Joel Borges Correa, sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Souza was arrested after breaking her ankle bracelet and fleeing into the country. At the beginning of the year, she complained in an interview with CNN about not receiving support from Bolsonaro parliamentarians and about having been “forgotten” in an Argentine prison.
Oliveira was arrested in November 2024 in the city of La Plata. The Ministry of Security of the province of Buenos Aires reported at the time that the capture occurred when police officers saw a man in a suspicious attitude and, when trying to identify him, found that he had an arrest and extradition warrant issued by the Brazilian Court.
In March, Argentina’s Federal Court denied a request to release Correa, who was also arrested in La Plata.
Ramalho, in turn, was detained in January, after being identified during an immigration process.
Firmino was arrested in November 2024, in the province of Jujuy (northwest of Argentina).
The five are part of the group of 61 Brazilians convicted of the coup attacks who fled to Argentina. The extradition request was made by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
Judge Daniel Rafecas, from the Federal Criminal Court number 3, is responsible for the case. The judge told the Brazilian press that all 61 will be subject to an extradition trial at some point.
The five can now appeal Judge Rafecas’ decision directly to the Argentine Supreme Court of Justice, which will have the final say on the matter, but without a defined deadline.
The topic is monitored by lawyers from the (Advocacia Geral da União), representing Brazil. According to the AGU, during the hearing, a statement was presented, “highlighting the institutionality of the Brazilian State and highlighting that all criminal guarantees relating to the rule of law were strictly followed in the processes conducted before the STF”.
The five people were convicted, and the Court had up to three working days to make a decision. The convicts are being held in Argentine prisons, and the trial had already been postponed three times.
There were doubts about the progress of the trials in Argentina, given the president’s close relationship with the former president (PL). Last year, however, Argentine government spokesman Manuel Adorni stated that there would be no “impunity pacts” and that the country would respect the decisions of the Brazilian Judiciary.
In 2024, the Argentine court ordered the arrest of all of them, following a request issued by the Brazilian government. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had received a list of more than 180 names of fugitives to Argentina and other countries.
Brazilians have already requested refuge from Argentina’s National Commission for Refugees, but the body has not yet responded.
