Alexandre Ramagem could soon find himself behind bars. The former deputy but mainly the number 1 of the Brazilian intelligence services under the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023) was arrested this Monday in Orlando, Florida, by the American immigration police.
Considered a fugitive by the Brazilian justice system, he had fled his country in September last year, just a few days before being sentenced to 16 years in prison for armed criminal organization, coup d’état, and attempted violent abolition of the rule of law.
This was part of the historic trial in which Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison, after it was proven that he had conspired to remain in power despite his defeat in the 2022 election against the current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
30,000 Bolsonaro opponents spied on
As a trusted man of Jair Bolsonaro, Alexandre Ramagem is also being investigated for his alleged involvement in an illegal espionage network benefiting the former president. Federal police investigators suspect him of setting up a spying network targeting political figures of all stripes, lawyers, Supreme Court judges, and journalists.
In total, about 30,000 people – all opposed to the then-president – are said to have been spied on by Alexandre Ramagen’s services, thanks to an Israeli spy software called FirstMile.
According to the Brazilian federal police, the arrest of Alexandre Ramagem would be “the result of international police cooperation between the Federal Police and the US police authorities.” It remains to be seen if the North American justice system, which sometimes serves the interests of President Donald Trump before the public interest, will follow through with the extradition process.
Faced with the far-right, do not give up!
It is step by step, argument by argument, that we must fight against the far-right. And that is what we do every day in L’Humanité.
Against the constant attacks of racists and hate-mongers: support us! Together, let’s make another voice heard in this ever more nauseating public debate.
/2026/04/14/69dea20601c16444803247.jpg "War in the Middle East: Volodymyr Zelensky Worried About the Consequences of the Conflict in Iran on Deliveries")
