Investigated for alleged interference in the 2022 elections, former director general broke an electronic ankle bracelet and was detained in Asunción when trying to board a flight to El Salvador with an irregular passport
The former general director of (PRF), , (26) at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, in Asunción, Paraguay. According to the director of (PF), Silvinei was trying to board a flight to El Salvador using an original Paraguayan passport, but with a false identity.
The escape attempt comes less than two weeks after the Federal Supreme Court () sentenced him to more than 24 years in prison for crimes related to the attempted coup d’état. Silvinei broke the electronic ankle bracelet he was wearing and crossed the border illegally. He is now awaiting expulsion procedures before being handed over to the Brazilian authorities.
Who is Silvinei Vasques
Silvinei Vasques, 50 years old, is from Ivaiporã (PR) and built a career spanning almost three decades at the PRF, which he joined in 1995. With extensive academic training — a degree in Economics, Law, Public Security and Administration, as well as a doctorate in Law —, he held regional leadership positions, as superintendent in Santa Catarina and .
In April 2021, during the (PL) government, he was elevated to the highest position of general director of the corporation. His administration was marked by an explicit political alignment with the then president and the militarization of the PRF’s image, bringing it closer to other security forces. He retired in December 2022, at age 47, with full pay.
This year, Vasques returned to public life as Secretary of Economic Development and Innovation for the city of São José (SC), a position he recently left, days before his conviction by the STF.
Judicial siege and convictions
Vasques’ trajectory collapsed due to his role in the 2022 elections and subsequent undemocratic acts.
Blitz in the elections: Vasques was accused of instrumentalizing the PRF to interfere in the second round of the 2022 presidential elections. Investigations showed that he ordered massive inspection operations (blitzes) concentrated in the Northeast region, Luiz Inácio da Silva’s electoral stronghold, with the aim of making it difficult for voters to travel;
Prison and ankle bracelet: In August 2023, he was preventively arrested in “Operation Citizen Constitution”, suspected of interfering in the election. After a year of detention in Complexo da Papuda, in , he was released in August 2024 by order of the minister, starting to wear an electronic ankle bracelet and comply with other precautions;
Conviction for misconduct: In August 2025, the TRF-2 convicted Vasques of administrative improbity for using his position to ask for votes for Bolsonaro on social media and official events, imposing a fine of more than R$500,000 and suspension of political rights;
Sentence to 24 years: At the beginning of this month, the STF formed a majority to sentence him to 24 years and 6 months in prison for the crimes of violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law and coup d’état, related to the use of the PRF in the coup plot. It was this recent sentence that motivated the request for dismissal from his position at São José city hall and, now, the attempt to escape the country;
