US immigration officers on Monday have detained a former Brazilian intelligence chief who fled to the United States after being convicted for his role in a coup plot.

Alexandre Ramagem was convicted to 16 years in prison for his role in failed scheme to overturn Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's 2022 election victory over Jair Bolsonaro. He fled Brazil before he could be arrested.

A former police officer, Ramagen commanded Brazil's main intelligence agency, ABIN, under Bolsonaro.

He is listed as being in custody on the website of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE has given no other details of Ramagem's detention.

What did Brazilian authorities say?

Brazil's Federal ‌Police said in a statement on Monday that a Brazilian man whose capture was sought by that country's authorities was arrested in Orlando, Florida, by ICE.

The police did not identify the ‌man but said he had been convicted by Brazil's Supreme Court of plotting ‌a coup.

The detention was the result of cooperation between the law enforcement in both countries, Brazil's Federal Police added.

Brazil formally requested Ramagem's extradition in December.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko