According to Paraguayan authorities, Silvinei Vasques entered the country “irregularly, evading justice” from Brazil and intended to “evade immigration controls” to escape to El Salvador, “usurping the identity of a Paraguayan citizen”.
The former director of the Brazilian Federal Highway Police Silvinei Vasques, one of those convicted in the attempted coup d’état trial, was arrested this Friday when he tried to flee from an airport in Paraguay.
A confirmation was provided by the National Police and the National Directorate of Migrations of Paraguai which, in a statement, indicated that, “after consultations with the Federal Police of Brazil, it was confirmed that the detainee is considered a high-value criminal, with a final sentence of 24 years and a six-month custodial sentence in the neighboring country.”
According to Paraguayan authorities, Silvinei Vasques entered the country “irregularly, evading justice” from Brazil and intended to “evade immigration controls” to escape to El Salvador, “usurping the identity of a Paraguayan citizen”.
Speaking to the Spanish news agency Efe, Paraguay’s Director of Migrations, Jorge Kronawetter, explained that the administrative expulsion of Vasques was decreedas he was wanted in Brazil and violated Paraguayan laws by not legally entering the country.
“Making use of the migration law, we will hand him over to the Brazilian Federal Police,” he added.
According to Brazilian authorities, Vasques, sentenced to 24 years and six months in prison by the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil for participating in the attempted coup d’état, “the electronic bracelet broke” who monitored his movements, but was detained at Asunción airport before completing his escape.
Speaking to the newspaper O Globo, the director of the Brazilian Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, said that Vasques intended to flee to El Salvador with an original Paraguayan passport that did not correspond to his identity.
Silvinei Vasques was found guilty of having orchestrated an operation in the second round of the October 2022 electionsdesigned to make it difficult for voters from the Northeast of the country to reach voting centers in traditionally left-wing strongholds, thus favoring Bolsonaro, who ended up defeated by Lula da Silva.
