Buenos Aires Herald 
The Brazilian government formally requested the Argentine Foreign Ministry extradite dozens of former President Jair Bolsonaro supporters that are living in Argentina, either as political refugees or illegally.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the order and Argentina is now studying what are its next steps. The accused are wanted by the Brazilian judiciary for attacking three federal government buildings in Brasilia during the inauguration of President Lula Da Silva on January 8, 2023.
The extradition request
The Brazilian Federal Police initially made the request to the Federal Supreme Court. De Moraes forwarded the document to the Justice Ministry, which later sent the request to the Argentine Foreign Ministry.
Extradition is a legal figure that is presented to a country through diplomatic channels. Its object is to request that one or more people be handed over in order to be subjected to criminal proceedings — or serve an already existing sentence — in the state of origin of the request.
It is expected that the Milei administration will make its position known through Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni’s press conference on Friday. The Brazilian press has reported that the requests are for a total of 63 persons residing in Argentina.
The extradition requests are the result of an investigation into the 2023 assault that is being carried out by the judiciary. The Brazilian government has called the incident an “attempted coup” against President Lula Da Silva. Hundreds of supporters of the former far-right President Bolsonaro invaded the presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court, protesting the inauguration of the new president.
Following the riot, the police identified dozens of people involved. Some of them were sentenced to up to 17 years in prison for crimes like attempted coup, armed criminal association, and damage to historic buildings and monuments. A few months later, however, the Brazilian press reported that investigators discovered that many of them had escaped to Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
The fugitives in Argentina
Argentine authorities confirmed in June that more than sixty fugitives were in the country. Several of those under investigation initiated proceedings to request political asylum, the resolution of which is pending.
Eduardo Bolsonaro — Jair’s son — was present at a meeting ruling coalition La Libertad Avanza (LLA) organized in the Argentine Congress in May. At that meeting, he requested that the Brazilians accused of the attempted coup be granted political asylum while denouncing “censorship” and “persecution” in his country.
Close to 100 people attended the event, called “Censorship, freedom of expression, and human rights in Brazil.” LLA deputy Maria Celeste Ponce organized the meeting, calling for the unity of the regional right-wing against the left.
“The new right-wing of Brazil and Argentina is gathered here to strongly reject the political persecution suffered by Brazilian citizens, but also to remind the left that we are ready to defend Western values and to be the beacon of the West in the world,” she said.
