Marcelo Ivo de Carvalho is accused of manipulating the immigration system to facilitate the detention of the former head of Brazilian secret services Alexandre Ramagem
The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, supported the decision to revoke the credentials of a United States (US) security agent operating in Brazil, after Washington expelled a Brazilian attaché.
In a video published on social media on Wednesday, Lula da Silva congratulated the director general of the Federal Police (PF), Andrei Rodrigues, for what he described as a measure of diplomatic reciprocity.
On Monday, the US expelled Brazil’s security attaché, Marcelo Ivo de Carvalho, accusing him of manipulating the immigration system to facilitate the detention of former head of Brazilian secret services Alexandre Ramagem.
“Congratulations on your position in relation to the delegate [norte-]American, applying reciprocity. In other words, what they did to us, we will do to them, in the hope that they are willing to resume conversations and that things return to normal”, declared Lula.
The statements were made during the signing of a contract to hire a thousand new agents for the PF, an event that was attended by Andrei Rodrigues and the Minister of Justice, Wellington Lima e Silva.
Marcelo Ivo de Carvalho, who served as a liaison with US immigration authorities – known as ICE – lived in Miami, where he was ordered to leave the country, the US State Department said on Monday.
“No foreigner can manipulate our immigration system to circumvent formal extradition requests and extend political witch hunts to US territory”, justified Washington.
“The Brazilian official in question was asked” to leave the US, the authorities added, on social network X, without mentioning the name Marcelo Ivo de Carvalho.
Alexandre Ramagem was detained by ICE on April 13, in Orlando, in the state of Florida (southeastern United States). At the time, Brazilian police described the arrest as the result of cooperation with US authorities.
A fugitive from Brazilian justice, Ramagem, 53 years old, was sentenced in September to 16 years in prison, in the same case as former president Jair Bolsonaro, by the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil.
Both were found guilty of conspiring to keep the former leader in power, despite his defeat in the 2022 elections against Lula da Silva.
According to Brazilian police, Alexandre Ramagem fled Brazil in September, through Guyana, without going through immigration controls, and entered the USA with a diplomatic passport, according to the Brazilian press.
Brazil officially requested Ramagem’s extradition in December.
Alexandre Ramagem was released two days after being detained. At the time, he thanked Donald Trump’s government for his release and said he was in good standing in the country.
Ramagem also said that he was detained for immigration reasons and that he entered the country in a “perfectly regular” manner.
