Argentina wants Brazil to arrest 61 right-wing rebels

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro has ordered the arrest of 61 Brazilian citizens wanted in their home country for their participation in a 2023 raid on government buildings in Brasilia by his supporters, an Argentinian source said on Saturday. .

Two men facing prison sentences have been arrested in Brazil so far, a judicial source in Argentina told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity because the man was not authorized to speak publicly.

Argentina received an extradition request from Brazilian judicial authorities last month.

During the incident on January 8, 2023, a week after leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and looted the Congress building, the presidential palace, and the Supreme Court.

Some rebels fled to Argentina, hoping to find refuge in the government of right-wing President Javier Milei.

Federal police officials in Brazil said in June they believed between 50 and 100 Bolsonaro supporters accused of vandalism and rioting entered Argentina to avoid legal consequences. Many had convictions by the Brazilian Supreme Court, which carried heavy penalties.

Bolsonaro’s former vice president, Senator Hamilton Mourao, said at the time that he did not believe that those who fled to Argentina would receive a fair trial in Brazil.

The Brasilia riots were similar to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, who has since been elected to a second term.

Brazilian authorities arrested nearly 3,000 people following the riots, and about half of them remain in prison.

Political violence reignited after an attempted bomb attack on Brazil’s Supreme Court, reminiscent of the ransacking of the building by Bolsonaro supporters last year.

The incident strengthened consensus in Congress against a proposal to offer amnesty to those involved in the 2023 attacks.

(Reporting by Nicolas Misculin in Buenos Aires, additional reporting by Anthony Boadle, writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Diane Craft)