São Paulo, Brazil – Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the extradition of 63 Brazilian nationals residing in Argentina on Tuesday.
The Brazilian citizens are under investigation for their alleged involvement in the January 8, 2023 attacks on Brazil’s government headquarters by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro following his loss in the country’s elections.
The extradition request was formally presented to Justice Moraes’ office by the Federal Police.
On Wednesday, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs transmitted the Supreme Court’s request to its embassy in Buenos Aires, ensuring that the list is forwarded to Argentine authorities. Once the extradition request is acknowledged, local judicial officials will deliberate on the matter. Despite existing mutual extradition agreements, Argentina retains the sovereign right to accept or reject Brazil’s petition.
According to the Brazilian Federal Police, the 63 individuals entered Argentina circumventing standard immigration protocols. Investigators report that they may have crossed the border concealed in car trunks, on foot, or by boat across rivers. Most of the wanted were under electronic surveillance, but officials suspect that these monitoring devices were dismantled during their escape.
(photo: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil)
In June of this year, the Argentine government provided Brazil with a list containing the names of around 60 citizens wanted by the Brazilian justice system and who were living in its territory. Subsequently, the Federal Police began formulating extradition requests for these individuals.
However, Brazilian officials believe the number of those implicated in the January 8 events and who have fled the country could exceed the 63 identified by Argentina. The Federal Police estimate that about 180 individuals are currently at large, with some potentially hiding in Uruguay and Paraguay after entering these countries illegally, which also share borders with Brazil.
The ideological alignment between Argentine President Javier Milei and former Brazilian President Bolsonaro is thought to have influenced at least a third of these suspects to seek asylum in Argentina. Some have reportedly submitted formal requests for political asylum under Milei’s administration.
On January 8, 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters besieged and vandalised government buildings in the capital Brasília, rejecting the electoral victory of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva over Bolsonaro. They sought to instigate an institutional rupture that would allow Bolsonaro to retain power, allegedly with backing from factions within the military.
In the mayhem, millions of dollars of damage was caused to Brazil’s Supreme Court, Congress and the Planalto Palace, the official workplace of the president.
(photo: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil)
As of now, at least 226 individuals have been convicted of crimes including armed criminal association, violent abolition of democracy, attempted coup d’état, qualified damage, and destruction of protected property.
Sentences handed down by the Supreme Court vary based on the specific crimes attributed to each defendant, with the most severe reaching up to 17 years in prison under strict confinement.