Former Brazilian Highway Police Chief arrested in Paraguay Following Escape Attempt
São Paulo, Brazil – Alexandre de Moraes, a Justice on Brazil’s Supreme Court, has ordered teh immediate detention of Silvinei Vasques, the former head of the country’s federal highway police. Vasques was apprehended in Asunción, Paraguay, while attempting to flee to El Salvador.
The arrest follows vasques’s removal of a court-ordered ankle monitor while in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. This triggered alerts at border crossings, ultimately leading to his capture at the airport.
Vasques was recently sentenced to 24 years and six months in prison for his involvement in a 2023 attempt to undermine Brazil’s democratic institutions – the same plot for which former President jair Bolsonaro received a 27-year sentence.
Details emerging from the Supreme Court document reveal a carefully planned escape. Vasques traveled by rented car, even bringing his dog along, and possessed a falsified Paraguayan passport. Authorities resolute the flight risk necessitated converting his existing monitoring restrictions into full preventative detention.
His legal counsel has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the escape attempt.
This isn’t the first instance of individuals convicted in connection with the 2023 coup attempt attempting to evade Brazilian justice. In November, Alexandre Ramagem, a former intelligence agency director, was ordered arrested after fleeing to the United States in September.
The situation mirrors a similar incident involving Bolsonaro himself, who attempted to tamper with his own ankle monitor using a soldering iron while under house arrest last month. These escalating attempts to circumvent the legal process underscore the ongoing political tensions surrounding the events of 2023.