Ex-Brazilian Spy Chief Detained by ICE in Florida

Former Brazilian intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday in Florida, where he had been living in exile since fleeing Brazil following his conviction for involvement in a coup plot.

Ramagem, 53, a former federal police officer and congressman, served as director of Brazil's Brazilian Intelligence Agency, known as ABIN, during Jair Bolsonaro's presidency from 2019 to 2022. Brazil's Supreme Court convicted him in September of armed criminal association, attempted coup d'etat, and the attempted violent abolition of the rule of law. The charges stemmed from his role in efforts to overturn Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's 2022 election victory over Bolsonaro. Prosecutors accused Ramagem of transforming ABIN into a clandestine unit that illegally monitored Supreme Court justices, lawmakers, journalists, and investigations involving Bolsonaro's family members, including his son Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. He was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison and stripped of his congressional mandate. Ramagem has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.

He fled Brazil days before the verdict, traveling by car to...