Brazil's former spy chief who fled country arrested by ICE in U.S.

Crime Brazil's former spy chief who fled country arrested by ICE in U.S., lawmaker says April 14, 2026 / 6:24 AM EDT / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google A Brazilian senator said on Monday that the country's former intelligence agency chief Alexandre Ramagem was arrested by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and is pleading for him to get political asylum in the United States.Ramagem, also a former lawmaker, was sentenced in September to 16 years in prison for his role in the coup attempt by supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in 2023. Brazil's federal police said he fled the South American nation before he would have started serving his sentence.Sen. Jorge Seif said in his social media channels that he had informed the U.S. embassy in Brasilia that Ramagem should not remain in custody for he was being persecuted at home. Seif did not give details as to why the former Brazilian intelligence agency chief had been put under custody.On Monday, Ramagem appeared as in custody in ICE's online detainee database, although where he is being held was not specified."The political persecution against President Bolsonaro, his sons and his allies is now hitting an elected lawmaker in foreign soil," Seif said. "In our document (to the U.S. embassy) we showed all the reasons that justify and defend the concession of political asylum to Ramagem and his family."Ramagem was stripped of his seat in Brazil's congress in December as a consequence of his conviction in the coup case one month earlier. Former General Director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, Alexandre Ramagem, looks on during a session of the Brazilian Supreme Court judging the participation of those accused of the attempted coup d'état in January 2023, in Brazil on June 9, 2025.  EVARISTO SA/AFP via Getty Images Earlier on Monday, Brazil's federal police said in a statement that ICE had detained "a fugitive from Brazilian justice following his conviction for the crimes of armed crimin...