The former director of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), Silvinei Vasques, must serve pretrial detention, according to a ruling by Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) of Brazil, hours after he was arrested at Asunción airport in Paraguay while trying to board a flight to El Salvador. The decision was made after the Federal Police reported that the electronic ankle bracelet used by Vasques had been deactivated and that other precautionary measures imposed by the STF had been violated. Vasques had been sentenced to 24 years and six months in prison for the attempted coup d'état aimed at keeping former President Jair Bolsonaro in power after his 2022 election defeat to current Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The former official had been granted provisional release in August 2024 under strict conditions, which included wearing an electronic ankle bracelet, nighttime house arrest, surrendering passports with a prohibition on leaving the country, and a prior conviction. Vasques's electronic ankle bracelet lost its GPS signal in the early hours of December 25, after which federal agents conducted a search at the former director's home in São José, Santa Catarina state (south), but did not find him, Noticias Argentinas agency learned via Xinhua. According to Moraes, the evidence gathered indicates an escape attempt and an effort to evade the application of criminal law. The judge stated that the unjustified violation of precautionary measures authorizes the conversion of the restrictions into pretrial detention, in accordance with STF jurisprudence. During the coup plot, Vasques coordinated operations and roadblocks during the 2022 runoff election to hinder electoral movement, especially in the Northeast region, where the current president had the highest vote intention.
