Brazil's Ex-Spy Chief Released from US Custody Amid Extradition Row

Alexandre Ramagem, the former head of Brazil's intelligence agency, has been released from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, according to reports. Ramagem, a close ally of Brazil's jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro, was detained by ICE on Monday, but the agency has not disclosed the reason for his detention.

The 53-year-old is wanted in Brazil, where he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his involvement in an attempted military coup aimed at keeping Bolsonaro in power after he lost the 2022 election. Ramagem fled to the US in September 2025 to avoid being jailed by Brazilian authorities.

Background

Ramagem led Brazil's intelligence agency (Abin) and was one of seven co-conspirators convicted alongside Bolsonaro over the military coup plot. He is also under investigation for allegedly using his position to illegally spy on Bolsonaro's critics, which he has denied.

Brazilian judicial authorities have declared him a fugitive, and in December, the country's Supreme Court asked the US to extradite him. Before Ramagem's release, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that he must 'return to Brazil to serve his sentence'.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of the former president, announced Ramagem's release on social media, thanking US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their handling of the situation. He described Ramagem as a 'true national hero' who deserves 'asylum in the land of liberty'.

Trump has previously expressed support for Bolsonaro, describing him as 'a good president of Brazil' and calling the trial over the attempted coup a 'witch hunt'. The US has not commented on Ramagem's release following his detention in Orlando, Florida.