Key Bolsonaro ally arrested in Paraguay while trying to flee to El Salvador

Ex-Brazilian constabulary main caught utilizing fake Paraguay passport successful effort to committee formation to Panama, sent backmost to Brazil.

A Brazilian erstwhile constabulary chief, who fled the state aft helium was convicted arsenic an accomplice successful the attempted coup by Brazil’s far-right ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, has been arrested successful Paraguay, according to the country’s migration agency.

Silvinei Vasques was arrested connected Friday astatine the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport successful Paraguay’s superior Asuncion, the Paraguayan National Migration Directorate (DNM) said successful a connection posted connected its website.

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The bureau said Vasques was arrested for “identity theft” aft “attempting to evade migration controls by impersonating a Paraguayan citizen”.

Vasques was arrested portion attempting to committee a formation to Panama, declaring El Salvador arsenic his last destination, the DNM connection said.

The wanted constabulary main had “clandestinely” entered Paraguay portion “evading justness successful his location country”, DNM added.

An representation published connected X by Paraguayan migration authorities showed Vasques’s apprehension and identification.

A abstracted video clip posted connected the aforesaid relationship showed Vasques being turned implicit to Brazilian national constabulary astatine the Friendship Bridge borderline crossing that connects Paraguay’s Ciudad del Este and Brazil’s Foz bash Iguacu.

Translation: The National Directorate of Migration (DNM) expelled Silvinei Vasques from the country. Moments ago, the DNM expelled Silvinei Vasques (50) from the country, subsequently handing him implicit to Brazilian Federal Police authorities astatine the Friendship Bridge borderline crossing.

Vasques, the erstwhile main of Brazil’s road police, was accused of deploying officers to forestall voters successful left-leaning areas from casting their ballots successful 2022 elections that Bolsonaro mislaid to left-wing campaigner and existent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

He was arrested successful 2023 and placed nether supervision with an physics ankle show pending trial. Earlier this month, helium was sentenced to much than 24 years successful situation to beryllium served nether location arrest. He fled Brazil soon after.

Brazilian media reported that Vasques broke his ankle show and drove crossed the borderline to Paraguay.

Brazil Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the fugitive’s preventive detention arsenic a precautionary measurement on  Friday, Reuters quality bureau reported, citing a tribunal papers and accusation from 2 radical acquainted with the matter.

Reached by Reuters, Vasques’s lawyer did not remark connected his client’s effort to flee.

Vasques is not the archetypal authoritative convicted implicit the 2023 coup effort who has tried to flight from Brazil. In November, the Supreme Court ordered the apprehension of the erstwhile quality bureau manager Alexandre Ramagem, who near the state successful September and has since been surviving successful the United States.

That aforesaid month, Justice Moraes besides ordered Bolsonaro beryllium detained aft the erstwhile president tried to region his court-ordered ankle show utilizing a soldering iron, successful what the tribunal saw arsenic an effort to flight justice.

Bolsonaro, 70, is present serving a 27-year condemnation successful jailhouse aft being recovered blameworthy successful September of having led the crippled to forestall Lula from taking office.

On Thursday, the erstwhile president underwent country successful infirmary for a hernia.