The arrest of former deputy Alexandre Ramagem in the United States by the immigration police resulted in the expulsion of federal delegate Marcelo Ivo from the country, which creates a new point of tension in the diplomatic relationship between Brazil and the United States.
On Monday (20), the North American government announced, without naming names, the accusation that the foreign agent had manipulated the immigration system to “circumvent formal extradition requests and extend political persecution to United States territory”.
In reaction, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) stated that he would oppose the US if it was found that there was “an American abuse” in relation to the delegate.
Diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs met this Tuesday (21) with the charge d’affaires of the United States (USA) Embassy, Kimberly Kelly, to discuss the expulsion of delegate Marcelo Ivo and prevent the issue from escalating. Further details about the meeting have not yet been released.
The chronology of facts
Ramagem has been on the run in the USA since September last year, after being sentenced by the Federal Supreme Court to 16 years in a closed regime for participating in the coup plot. The former deputy was arrested in April this year.
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There is already a request for the former deputy’s extradition, which was formally presented to the American authorities on December 30 last year. However, there is no legal deadline for the US to analyze the application.
On April 13, in Florida, by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service for immigration reasons (ICE). The information was that the former deputy had an expired visa and was therefore subject to deportation.
In a document obtained by the Metrópoles website, ICE describes that Ramagem was admitted to the US, but is considered “” because the visa was for a tourist, with legal stay only until March 10.
On the day of the arrest, the Federal Police stated, without mentioning names, that a Brazilian had been arrested in the USA as a result of “international police cooperation between the Federal Police and US police authorities”, adding that the prisoner was “considered a fugitive from Brazilian justice after conviction for the crimes of armed criminal organization, coup d’état and attempted violent abolition of the Rule of Law”.
Ivo was not officially cited by the Federal Police or in the document released by ICE, but the Brazilian had been working on American soil since March 2023, when he was appointed to work as a liaison officer in Miami with ICE. Among the chief’s main duties was collaboration with the identification and arrest of fugitives from Brazilian justice in the USA, which is the case of Ramagem.
Ivo’s expulsion, which occurred the following week, corroborates the Federal Police’s version that cooperation between countries would have resulted in Ramagem’s arrest, which would have motivated the American government’s attitude.
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