Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) arrested Raquel de Souza Lopes, 51, at Belo Horizonte/Confins International Airport on 7 February 2026 minutes after she disembarked from a U.S. deportation flight. Lopes—convicted of involvement in the 8 January 2023 riots that vandalised Brazil’s federal buildings—had been on the run for almost a year, crossing Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Mexico before entering the United States irregularly in early 2025.
Her removal underscores the growing cooperation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the PF on biometric data-sharing and charter repatriations. Since late 2024, Brazil has accepted two weekly deportee flights, each carrying up to 120 nationals with outstanding arrest warrants or final removal orders abroad. The programme is politically sensitive but has allowed Brasília to demonstrate that it is willing to receive citizens who violate foreign immigration laws, a prerequisite for maintaining its U.S. visa-overstay tolerances.
For global-mobility managers the case illustrates the real-time impact of international watch-lists: Brazilian nationals wanted at home can be flagged during U.S. asylum or visa processes and placed on expedited removal, leading to immediate arrest on arrival. Employers should therefore ensure that background-check and employee-history disclosures are exhaustive when transferring staff to the United States; failing to do so can result in sudden project disruptions if an assignee is denied entry or deported.
![Brazilian Fugitive Arrested on Arrival After U.S. Deportation Highlights Tightened Border Screening]()
At the documentation stage, specialised visa facilitators can be invaluable. VisaHQ, for example, offers Brazil-focused compliance advisory and application management services that help companies verify employees’ travel histories and police clearances against U.S. and other jurisdictions’ thresholds; its online portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) also provides timely alerts on biometric-sharing agreements and deportation trends that might affect upcoming assignments.
The PF said Lopes was transferred to a Minas Gerais penitentiary and will serve the remainder of her 17-year sentence. Legal observers note that the swift hand-off from U.S. to Brazilian custody could serve as a template for future high-profile removals, especially those linked to political violence.
Practically, companies coordinating relocations for Brazilian employees with any pending legal matters should monitor Interpol Red Notices and Brazil’s national warrant database (BNMP) and consider obtaining legal clearance letters before overseas assignments.
Her removal underscores the growing cooperation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the PF on biometric data-sharing and charter repatriations. Since late 2024, Brazil has accepted two weekly deportee flights, each carrying up to 120 nationals with outstanding arrest warrants or final removal orders abroad. The programme is politically sensitive but has allowed Brasília to demonstrate that it is willing to receive citizens who violate foreign immigration laws, a prerequisite for maintaining its U.S. visa-overstay tolerances.
For global-mobility managers the case illustrates the real-time impact of international watch-lists: Brazilian nationals wanted at home can be flagged during U.S. asylum or visa processes and placed on expedited removal, leading to immediate arrest on arrival. Employers should therefore ensure that background-check and employee-history disclosures are exhaustive when transferring staff to the United States; failing to do so can result in sudden project disruptions if an assignee is denied entry or deported.
At the documentation stage, specialised visa facilitators can be invaluable. VisaHQ, for example, offers Brazil-focused compliance advisory and application management services that help companies verify employees’ travel histories and police clearances against U.S. and other jurisdictions’ thresholds; its online portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) also provides timely alerts on biometric-sharing agreements and deportation trends that might affect upcoming assignments.
The PF said Lopes was transferred to a Minas Gerais penitentiary and will serve the remainder of her 17-year sentence. Legal observers note that the swift hand-off from U.S. to Brazilian custody could serve as a template for future high-profile removals, especially those linked to political violence.
Practically, companies coordinating relocations for Brazilian employees with any pending legal matters should monitor Interpol Red Notices and Brazil’s national warrant database (BNMP) and consider obtaining legal clearance letters before overseas assignments.
