Attempted Coup and Initial Sentencing

Silvinei Vasques, the former director⁤ of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), was apprehended in Paraguay on december 26, 2025, after escaping house arrest.⁣ Vasques had been sentenced to 24 years⁣ and ⁣six months in prison on December ⁣16, 2025, for his role in the attempted coup following the October 2022 presidential election.

The coup attempt aimed to overturn the election results after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated then-President Jair Bolsonaro. Both ⁤Bolsonaro and Vasques, along with other collaborators, were accused of conspiring to remain in power despite the election outcome.

Escape and⁣ Capture

brazilian ‍authorities reported that Vasques, 50, removed his electronic monitoring anklet while under house arrest in Santa Catarina state and crossed the border into ⁢Paraguay by car. ⁢He had been initially imprisoned in ‍2023.

He was captured at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport near Asunción while attempting to board a flight to El Salvador ⁢using falsified documentation, according to ⁣reports from the Brazilian federal Police. Brazilian authorities had issued alerts to ‍Paraguay, Colombia, and Argentina ⁢regarding Vasques’s escape.

Broader Implications

The Supreme Court previously sentenced Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for his involvement in the conspiracy⁣ to subvert the democratic process. Vasques’s arrest represents a continued effort to hold ⁤those responsible for the attempted coup accountable for‍ their actions.