CNN commentator José Eduardo Cardozo and former senator and journalist Ana Amélia Lemos debated, this Tuesday (21), in The Great Debate (Monday to Friday, at 11pm), about the Ramagem Case: should Brazil be reciprocal with the USA or not?
The Brazilian government is evaluating the possibility of them working in Brazil as a retaliatory measure. The decision would be a response to the removal of a Brazilian delegate from the Federal Police who monitored Alexandre Ramagem, former director of Abin (Brazilian Intelligence Agency), in American territory.
President Lula, during an international agenda in Germany, stated that if there was abuse by the United States in relation to the Brazilian police officer, Brazil will apply the principle of reciprocity. “There is no conversation, that is, we want things to happen in the most correct way possible, but we cannot accept this authority that some American characters want to have in relation to Brazil”, he declared.
The case involves bilateral security cooperation agreements and police operations between Brazil and the United States. According to experts, there was collaboration between the Brazilian Federal Police and the person in charge of immigration in the United States, for the operation involving Ramagem, who was imprisoned in American territory.
Ana Amélia Lemos does not believe that the representative of the Brazilian Federal Police has exceeded operational limits provided for by law in this cooperation agreement between Brazil and the USA.
“If he eventually exceeded these limits, then the American government may have some reason to take the decision it did. But, apparently, there was a collaboration between the PF and ICE, the American body in charge of immigration in the United States for this operation by the Federal Police on a Brazilian. So, this is a situation that is more in the nature of a political decision by the American government than a technical decision on this”, assesses Lemos.
The American decision to remove the Brazilian delegate raises questions about possible political motivations. Analysts point out that the measure may be related to ties between Ramagem and the Bolsonaro family, considering the closeness between Donald Trump and the former Brazilian president
José Eduardo Cardozo also disapproves of the removal of the PF delegate involved in the case of Ramagem’s arrest.
“If he violated any rules or committed any improper procedure, then he really has to be sent to Brazil and, in Brazil, be subject to disciplinary proceedings by the Federal Police. Now, if nothing like that happened, he was normally carrying out his duties in agreement with the police authorities of the United States of America. And it was a political position of the Trump administration to defend someone who is an ally of Jair Bolsonaro, because Trump and Jair Bolsonaro have a political identity in terms of the extreme right. If that was the case, Brazil as a sovereign country cannot accept it”, stated Cardozo.
The principle of reciprocity, mentioned by the Brazilian president, is a common practice in international law when one country commits a serious act against another. Experts argue that, if there is no satisfactory explanation from the United States regarding the removal of the Brazilian police officer, Brazil would be legitimized to take equivalent measures in relation to American agents operating in national territory.
