Arrested in the USA, Ramagem entered the country with false documents and the help of a gold miner

Arrested this Monday (13) by the United States immigration service, former federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem entered the country with the support of allies and the use of false documents, according to an investigation by the Federal Police (PF). Sentenced by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to 16 years in prison in the coup plot process, Ramagem had been in Miami since September 2025, where he lived in a luxury condominium.

According to the PF, the ex-parliamentarian’s escape and stay in the USA had a central role in the family of gold miner Rodrigo Martins de Mello, known as Rodrigo Cataratas. He, his wife Priscila de Mello and his son Celso Rodrigo de Mello are said to be responsible for providing housing, financial support and obtaining false documents for Ramagem. The objective would be to “deceive the American authorities”, including when issuing a driver’s license.

The details are contained in a decision by STF minister Alexandre de Moraes, who, in December 2025, cited the case when denying house arrest to former president Jair Bolsonaro. In the document, the PF states that the action of the miner’s family highlights “the clear intention of financing the criminal organization” being investigated for an attempted coup d’état.

According to the excerpt highlighted by the minister, the false documents would be used by Ramagem, who has been in Miami, Florida, since September, to “deceive the American authorities” and obtain a driver’s license.

“In the case under analysis, it appears that the investigated RODRIGO MARTINS DE MELLO, PRISCILA FREITAS DE MELO and CELSO RODRIGO DE MELLO play a leading role in the clandestine maintenance of ALEXANDRE RAMAGEM in Miami/USA, as they are making it possible for him to live in a luxury condominium, in addition to helping the fugitive to deceive the American authorities with false documents in order to obtain the so-called driver’s license (driver’s license)”, said the PF in the excerpt.

Lawyer Jeffrey Chiquini, who represents Cataratas, said that the defense will only comment after having access to the records. Lawyer Augusto Mendes de Araújo, who represents Celso Rodrigo de Mello, has not yet commented.

The investigation also traced the route out of the country. Ramagem left Brazil for Roraima, crossing the border through the municipality of Bonfim towards Guyana, the country where Cataratas does business. From there, he went to the United States. The PF points out that the scheme had an organized structure to guarantee escape and clandestine stay abroad.

In December, Cataratas’ son was arrested in Manaus by the Federal Police following a decision by STF minister Alexandre de Moraes, responsible for the case. Weeks before, the businessman had already spoken out on the networks after information began to circulate on the networks that he had helped Ramagem to leave the country.

— (Ramagem) has several friends in Roraima, and I’m also his friend, right? He’s a federal deputy, guys. When he was in Roraima for the last time there was no conviction against him. So, this narrative of escape, this is a fallacious narrative, precisely to maintain a persecution — says Cataratas in the video, published at the end of November, without confirming whether or not he was being investigated — We are all right-wing here and we are persecuted.

In the video, the businessman says that he found out about Ramagem’s conviction through social media and only when he was already out of the country. On March 31, Cataratas published an image on his social networks alongside the then parliamentarian, who had his mandate revoked in December.

“I had the honor of receiving federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem in Boa Vista, a great ally of President Jair Bolsonaro and tireless defender of freedom and national sovereignty. We spoke about Brazil’s direction, the challenges of the 2026 elections and the strengthening of a political project aligned with the values ​​of the right, order and progress”, wrote Cataratas at the time.

According to Cataratas, Celso is an American citizen and was traveling to the United States to celebrate his own wedding, accompanied by his wife and daughter.

“Rodrigo Cataratas’ advisors clarify that, this Saturday, the Federal Police carried out an arrest warrant in Manaus (AM) against Celso Rodrigo de Mello, son of Rodrigo Cataratas, as determined by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, as part of an investigation related to the investigation into the alleged escape of federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem”, says the note released at the time of the arrest.

The prospector has business in Guyana, a country that was on Ramagem’s escape route to the United States, as revealed by GLOBO columnist Malu Gaspar. The PF investigation found that the federal deputy arrived in the neighboring country through the municipality of Bonfim, which borders the city of Lethem.

Currently, Rodrigo Cataratas is a pre-candidate for the Senate for the PRD. In 2022, he had contested for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies for the PL, having declared that he saved R$4.5 million in cash. Its assets also include ten aircraft and eleven vehicles, in addition to a total of R$33.6 million. He is one of the leaders of the “Garimpo é Legal Movement”.

In January 2024, the Federal Public Ministry charged the businessman on suspicion of setting fire to a car belonging to the Brazilian Institute of the Environment (Ibama) and invading the Federal Police yard to set fire to an institute helicopter in 2021. Cataratas allegedly financed and encouraged the destruction of the equipment. Cataratas is still a defendant in three cases in Federal Court in connection with illegal gold exploration in Roraima. Like his father, his son Celso has also had problems with the law. In 2022 he was arrested on suspicion of illegally exploring for gold in the Yanomami Indigenous Land. He was released days later.