Brazil federal police seek extradition of Bolsonaro supporters from Argentina

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s Federal Police requested the extradition of dozens of people who had fled the country after being accused of storming top government offices last year, in an alleged bid to forcefully restore former President Jair Bolsonaro to office, two sources familiar with the police request told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

The police sent their request to the Supreme Court's Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who remitted it to the Justice Ministry, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. One of them said the request targets 63 people, most believed to be in neighboring Argentina.

De Moraes oversees the extensive investigation into the Jan. 8 rampage in the capital, Brasilia, and has prohibited suspects and those convicted from leaving the country.

Bolsonaro — who is a target of the investigation himself — and his allies deny wrongdoing and say they are victims of political persecution, echoing former U.S. President Donald J. Trump's characterization of his legal woes. He repeatedly sowed doubt about the reliability of Brazil’s voting system, never conceded defeat in the October 2022 presidential election and declined to attend President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s swearing-in.

The Federal Police carried out an operation in June to capture fugitives involved in the riots. More than 200 defendants deliberately failed to comply with judicial precautionary measures or even fled to other countries, police said in a statement.

So far, dozens of fugitives have been arrested in the states of Espirito Santo, Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Goias, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Parana and the Federal District. They are accused of a litany of crimes, including attempting a coup, incitement to crime, destruction and deterioration of protected property, police said.

The Supreme Court asked Argentina’s foreign affairs ministry for confirmation that 143 “fugitives from Brazilian justice are located in Argentine territory,” Brazilian authorities said on June 11. The letter was delivered via the embassy in Buenos Aires.

The top court had also obligated defendants to hand over their passports, but media reports emerged of suspects heading to neighboring countries. At least nine broke their electronic ankle bracelets and headed for Argentina and Uruguay through the borders of southern Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul states, local news website UOL reported in May.

Trips between the countries for tourism do not require passports, as Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are member countries of trade bloc Mercosur. An ID card suffices.

The Justice Ministry declined to comment about any specific extradition request underway when contacted by the AP on Wednesday, but said in a statement that the extradition process entails ministry analysis of requests that would be sent to the Foreign Relations Ministry, which would then remit documentation to Brazil's Buenos Aires embassy for communication to the Argentine government.

The Supreme Court and Foreign Relations Ministry declined to comment when contacted by the AP.

Brazil’s quest to bring to justice those involved in the uprising has so far entailed more than two dozen phases, and hundreds of arrests targeting those who ransacked government buildings, and incited or financed the episode.

Brazilian police earlier this year searched the homes and offices of Bolsonaro’s top aides and one of his sons, Carlos. They also seized the former leader’s passport as part of the investigation.