In a development that has already stirred cross-border diplomatic friction, Alexandre Ramagem, the fugitive former head of Brazil’s intelligence agency Abin and a close confidant of jailed ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, has been freed from custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Ramagem, 53, was taken into ICE custody earlier this week in Orlando, Florida, but his name has been removed from the agency’s public detainee roster, a change first confirmed by BBC News Brasil. ICE initially confirmed the Monday detention but has offered no public explanation for the arrest, nor any official comment on Ramagem’s release, which Brazilian media outlets reported occurred Wednesday.
Ramagem’s release came after Brazilian judicial authorities had formally requested his extradition from the U.S. back in December 2025, following his 16-year prison sentence for his leading role in a failed 2022 military coup plot to keep Bolsonaro in power after his electoral loss to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The convicted former spy chief fled Brazil for the United States in September 2025, days before he was scheduled to begin serving his sentence, and had been labeled a fugitive by Brazilian law enforcement.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, the ex-president’s son who currently resides in the U.S., confirmed Ramagem’s freedom in a social media post Thursday, saying the former spy chief was “out and home.” In the post, Eduardo Bolsonaro publicly thanked U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for what he called their “sensitivity” in handling Ramagem’s case, calling the convicted coup plotter “a true national hero” who refuses to surrender amid what the Bolsonaro camp frames as political persecution. Echoing Ramagem’s previously reported request for U.S. protection, Eduardo Bolsonaro added that the ex-intelligence chief deserves asylum “in the land of liberty.”
Ramagem was one of seven co-defendants convicted alongside Jair Bolsonaro for the 2022 coup attempt. He also faces an ongoing separate investigation on allegations that he abused his position as Abin director to conduct illegal surveillance on political opponents of Bolsonaro, charges he has repeatedly denied.
Before news of Ramagem’s release broke, Brazilian President Lula reaffirmed that the fugitive must be sent back to Brazil to complete his prison sentence. For his part, Trump has repeatedly voiced support for the jailed ex-president, calling the 2022 coup trial a “witch hunt” and saying Bolsonaro’s own 27-year prison sentence was “very surprising” when it was handed down.