The Argentine National Refugee Commission confirmed to the Herald that the government is evaluating asylum requests from more than 100 Brazilian citizens in Argentina, some of whom are accused of participating in a 2023 attempted coup in Brasilia.

A source close to the matter said in an interview that Brazil’s judiciary aims to extradite at least 60 of them, in a move that could potentially further strain the relationship between both countries.

On January 8, 2023, following Jair Bolsonaro’s defeat in the 2022 presidential elections, a mob of his supporters attacked three federal government buildings in Brasilia, protesting against newly elected President Lula Da Silva.

Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice and electoral authority Alexandre de Moraes considers the attack an attempted coup. The Brazilian judiciary has already convicted 86 people on charges ranging from vandalism to insurrection. Bolsonaro himself is being investigated as part of the plot and has been barred from public office until 2030. Bolsonaristas argue that De Moraes is carrying out a politically-motivated persecution.

Regina Modesto, one of the convicted rioters who fled Brazil and is currently living in Argentina, said she was only protesting against left-wing “corruption” and did not intend to overthrow Lula’s government. In an interview with Argentine newspaper Tiempo Argentino last week, she said that an attorney of Argentina’s National Public Defender’s Office advised her on how to file an asylum request.

The source consulted by the Herald added that Brazil requested information on 143 fugitives and that Argentina had sent data on 60 that had entered the country. The final tally could differ, however, as ten of them have already left Argentina while others could have entered the country illegally, the source said.

The Herald made an initial public information request to the National Refugee Commission. They responded that, until June 17, the government was evaluating 101 asylum applications. Tiempo Argentino made another request, which the commission answered, stating that, by June 30, there were 119 Brazilian asylum seekers in Argentina.

Requests for refugee status from Brazilian citizens have surged in Argentina over the first half of the year — that is, after Javier Milei took office. In 2023, only three Brazilians initiated the procedure before the National Refugee Commission. In the first semester of 2024, however, 99 Brazilians have formally asked to become refugees in Argentina. 

Requests increased drastically starting in April. While only six petitions were made between January and March, 25 Brazilians formally requested asylum in the following month. In May there were 47, and in June, 38. The National Refugee Commission said they could not report on the reason for the requests or if they were linked to the attack in Brasilia.

Carolina Siebra, a lawyer for 300 Brazilians who participated in the Congress attack, told the Herald that some of the people she represents will file formal requests for political asylum in Argentina. She added that the legal process against the Bolsonaristas “violates the human rights treaties to which Brazil is a signatory.”

The matter could potentially further strain Argentina-Brazil’s relations, as Lula and Milei are already at odds. On July 7, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a federal deputy and son of the former president, asked for “amnesty” for the rioters during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Brazil. Milei also attended the event. 

Last month, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said that the government did not have information on the coup rioters entering the country and dismissed it as “a propaganda issue.”