Overview
- Alexandre Ramagem, a fugitive ex-spy chief from Brazil, was taken into ICE custody in Florida on Monday, according to the ICE detainee database and Brazil’s federal police.
- He was sentenced in September 2025 to 16 years for a plot to overturn Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 2022 election win, with investigators saying he used Brazil’s intelligence agency to track judges, lawmakers, and journalists with spy software.
- Brazil filed a formal extradition request on December 30, 2025, and Lula said Tuesday he expects the United States to return Ramagem so he can serve his sentence.
- Allies say a minor traffic stop in Orlando led to the detention and claim he has a pending U.S. asylum request, while Brazil’s federal police describe the arrest as the product of cooperation with U.S. authorities.
- U.S. officials have released few details, leaving it unclear whether the next step will be an extradition case or immigration proceedings, a choice that could carry diplomatic consequences for U.S.–Brazil relations.