Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Mar 29, 2026

Brazil prepares to seek extradition of Bolsonaro ally from US

Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of Bolsonaro’s Justice Minister Anderson Torres, who remains in Florida.
Brazilian authorities have given a former justice minister and ally of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro three days to return to the country or face extradition from the United States, as the government pursues those it says are responsible for a far-right riot in the capital last weekend.

The Brazilian Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of Anderson Torres in relation to the riot in Brasilia on January 8, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace to overturn October’s election results.

Torres has denied any wrongdoing and said he would turn himself in to present his defence, but he and Bolsonaro remain in the US state of Florida.

The government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, which has pledged to investigate those who helped finance and plan the attack on the country’s democratic institutions, said on Friday it had not yet presented a US extradition request for Torres.

Justice Minister Flavio Dino told reporters, however, that “if by next week [Torres’s] appearance hasn’t been confirmed, of course, we will use mechanisms of international legal cooperation. We will trigger procedures next week to carry out his extradition”.

Torres, who was sworn in as Brasilia’s security chief on January 2, was in the US on the day of the riot. But he was removed from his post following the attack as Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is running the investigations into the riot, accused him of “neglect and collusion”.

The violence in Brasilia came just weeks after Lula, who previously served as Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010, narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in an October election run-off, setting off angry protests and blockades by the former far-right leader’s supporters.

For months, Bolsonaro falsely claimed that Brazil’s electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud, raising fears he planned to contest the results. The ex-president’s campaign also led to accusations this week that he helped spur the riot.

Bolsonaro, who left for the US two days before Lula was sworn in as president on January 1, has rejected that criticism. He tweeted on Sunday that a peaceful protest is part of democracy but vandalism and invasion of public buildings are “exceptions to the rule”.

Still, federal prosecutors on Friday asked the Supreme Court to include Bolsonaro on a list of people under investigation after he posted a video “questioning the regularity of the 2022 presidential elections”.

By doing so, “Bolsonaro would have publicly incited the commission of a crime”, the prosecutor general’s office said in a statement.

The video was posted two days after the riot and later deleted. But the office said that even though it came after the uprising, it may serve as “a probative connection” that justified “a global investigation of the acts performed before and after January 8, 2023 by the defendant”.

Dino, Brazil’s justice minister, told reporters earlier that no connection has yet been established between the capital riot and Bolsonaro.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s police raided Torres’s home earlier this week, discovering a draft of an order that would have taken control of Brazil’s electoral authority and potentially overturned the election.

The document’s origins remain unclear, and Dino said Torres would need to share information about where it originated.

By failing to initiate a probe against the document’s author or report its existence, Torres could be charged with dereliction of duty, Mario Sergio Lima, a political analyst at Medley Advisors, told The Associated Press news agency.

Torres said on Twitter that the document was probably found in a pile along with others intended for shredding and that it was leaked out of context to feed false narratives aimed at discrediting him.

The federal district’s former governor and former military police chief are also targets of the Supreme Court investigation made public on Friday. Both were removed from their positions after the riot.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Saudi Arabia Strongly Condemns Attacks on Presidential Residences in Hawler
Saudi Stocks Edge Lower as Tadawul Index Closes Slightly Down
Houthis Enter Expanding Iran Conflict as US Deploys Additional Troops
Iran Seeks Assurances for Regional Allies as Saudi Arabia Presses for Firm Security Guarantees
Iranian Strike Reportedly Destroys $270 Million US E-3 Sentry Aircraft at Saudi Air Base
Iranian Strike on Saudi Base Leaves Ten American Personnel Injured
Ukraine Claims Russia Shared Satellite Intelligence with Iran Ahead of Saudi Base Strike
Pakistan Engages Regional Powers in Diplomatic Talks Over Iran Conflict
Escalating Iran Conflict Brings Renewed Focus to US Military Presence in Saudi Arabia
Iranian Strike Targets Saudi Airbase, Damaging Key US Military Assets
Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Emphasise Secure Shipping Routes in Talks on West Asia Conflict
Dallas-Based Company Secures One Billion Dollar Hotel Development Deal in Saudi Arabia
Zelensky Secures Defence Cooperation Deals with Gulf States During Strategic Regional Tour
Trump Calls on Saudi Arabia to Join Abraham Accords in Push for Expanded Middle East Cooperation
Trump Balances Humor and Praise in Remarks on Saudi Crown Prince
Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Pipeline Reaches Seven Million Barrel Capacity to Bypass Hormuz
Rubio Signals U.S. Could Conclude Iran Conflict Within Weeks as Air Campaign Intensifies
More Than a Dozen U.S. Soldiers Injured in Saudi Base Attack as Iran-Backed Houthis Expand Conflict
Iranian Strike on US Base in Saudi Arabia Injures Troops and Damages Aircraft
Pakistan to Convene Regional Talks with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt Amid Iran War Diplomacy
Ukraine and Saudi Arabia Reach ‘Mutually Beneficial’ Defence Agreement
Ukraine to Share Battlefield Expertise with Saudi Arabia Under New Defence Agreement
Trump Takes Center Stage at Saudi Arabia’s FII Miami Amid Escalating Iran Conflict
Gulf States Explore Pipeline Routes to Bypass Strait of Hormuz Amid Rising Tensions
Iran Conflict Drives Saudi Arabia to Deepen Security Ties with Ukraine
Saudi Arabia Reviews Desert Ski Resort Plans with Cancellation of Key Building Contracts
Saudi Arabia Targets Business Hotel Shortfall with $1 Billion Development Push
Iran and Allied Forces Intensify Strikes on Energy Sites and Urban Areas Across Region
Ukraine and Saudi Arabia Formalise Defence Cooperation Agreement, Zelenskiy Announces
Saudi Arabia Reportedly Presses US to Intensify Operations Against Iran
Saudi Arabia Expands Maritime Network with Launch of Six New Shipping Services
Saudi Arabia Launches FII Summit Amid Heightened Focus on Global Stability and Investment Risks
Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN Secures First US Customer in Expansion of AI Capabilities
Saudi Arabia Calls on US to Seize Strategic Opportunity to Reshape the Middle East
Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Investments Help Shape Silicon Valley’s Rise
Saudi Arabia Announces Passing of King Abdullah, Marking End of an Era
Saudi Arabia May Shift From Neutrality to Retaliation if Houthi Attacks Escalate, Experts Warn
UAE and Saudi Arabia Urge Decisive US Action on Iran as Regional Pressure Intensifies
Zelensky Visits Saudi Arabia After Offering Ukraine’s Drone Expertise
Saudi Arabia Pauses Ambitious Desert Ski Project Amid Strategic Reassessment
Trump Set for Palm Beach Return Following Saudi-Backed Summit in Miami
Saudi Arabia Accelerates Yanbu Oil Exports Toward Five Million Barrel Target
Report Highlights Saudi-US Security Discussions as Trump Administration Evaluates Iran Strategy
Saudi Arabia’s Humain Commits Three Billion Dollars to Elon Musk’s xAI in Strategic Technology Push
Saudi Arabia Signals Firm Shift in Iran Policy, Declares Coexistence No Longer Viable
Saudi Clubs Prepare Major Push to Sign Mohamed Salah Amid Growing Transfer Speculation
Saudi Arabia Rejects Claims It Seeks to Prolong Regional Conflict
Saudi Arabia Condemns Iranian Actions and Signals Firm Shift Toward Stronger Response
Saudi Arabia Reassesses Strategic Approach as Regional Tensions with Iran Intensify
Pakistan Reaffirms Strong Support for Saudi Arabia Following High-Level Visit
×