São Paulo, Brazil – An Argentine court issued arrest warrants for 61 Brazilian nationals who fled to Argentina after being convicted in Brazil for their roles in the violent anti-democratic attacks of January 8, 2023, in Brasília.
The ruling, handed down by Judge Daniel Rafecas of Argentina’s Federal Court No. 3, has already led to the detention of at least two individuals: Joelton Gusmão de Oliveira, 47, sentenced by Brazil’s Supreme Court to 16 years in prison for attempted coup, damage to public property, criminal association, among other charges; and Rodrigo Moro Ramalho, 34, who received a 14-year sentence for similar offenses.
The two men were apprehended by Argentine police in La Plata, a city roughly 60 kilometers from Buenos Aires.
In October, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes requested the extradition of 63 Brazilians residing in Argentina. However, as no identifying list was disclosed, it remains unclear if these individuals are among those targeted by Judge Rafecas’s arrest warrants.
According to estimates from Brazil’s Federal Police, as many as 180 people implicated in the January 8 attacks may have fled to neighboring countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
Despite ideological affinities with supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro—whose backers unleashed a wave of destruction in Brasília following the election of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva—Argentina’s government, led by Javier Milei, has stated it will comply with court orders mandating extraditions.
(photo: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil)
