INTERNATIONAL EXTRADITION · LATIN AMERICA
Extradition from Brazil to the United States.
Treaty of Extradition (1961) and Additional Protocol (1962) controls the request. The protocol says neither state is treaty-obligated to extradite nationals and permits surrender only if its Constitution and laws allow. The arrest clock and local review path decide what happens next.
THE SHORT ANSWER
In force No official average was found. STF proceedings, nationality proof, translation or document supplementation, Brazilian prosecution or sentence, serious illness and assurances can delay surrender. Treaty Article XIII and Migration Law Article 92 generally give the requesting state 60 days after notice of availability to remove the person.
Treaty of Extradition (1961) and Additional Protocol (1962)
Effective: 1964-12-17
WHAT COUNSEL CHECKS FIRST
The active paper. The country. The clock.
THE RESPONSE ROOM
What has to be established first.
FIRST HOURS
Identify the legal basis for custody
Record the arresting authority, court, case number, custody location, interpreter need, and any hearing date. Ask for counsel before discussing the foreign accusation.
WHO DECIDES
The local record controls
The request proceeds through diplomatic or designated central channels and the federal executive conducts formal admissibility screening. The Supreme Federal Court (STF), after hearing the Federal Public Prosecutor and the requested person, decides legality. If the STF denies extradition, the same fact cannot support a new request; if it authorizes extradition, the competent executive authority authorizes delivery subject to treaty and statutory commitments.
THE CLOCK
Deadlines are event-specific
Treaty Article VIII permits provisional arrest through diplomatic or consular channels. A fully supported formal request must arrive within a maximum 60 days from provisional arrest or the person is released; a renewed request then must include full Article IX documents. Migration Law Article 84 also uses 60 days absent a treaty rule, calculated from notice to the requesting state. No official average was found. STF proceedings, nationality proof, translation or document supplementation, Brazilian prosecution or sentence, serious illness and assurances can delay surrender. Treaty Article XIII and Migration Law Article 92 generally give the requesting state 60 days after notice of availability to remove the person.
DOCUMENT AUDIT
Build the file before the argument
Preserve the notice or warrant, charging papers, identity records, release terms, travel documents, medical records, and every dated communication. Do not alter or delete evidence.
FOR FAMILIES COORDINATING ACROSS BORDERS
Confirm the exact legal name, detention location, medication needs, next hearing, local lawyer, and one reliable contact channel. A consulate may assist with welfare and contact; it cannot cancel the local case.
02 · THE PROCESS
How the Brazil process moves.
Judicial and executive stages
The request proceeds through diplomatic or designated central channels and the federal executive conducts formal admissibility screening. The Supreme Federal Court (STF), after hearing the Federal Public Prosecutor and the requested person, decides legality. If the STF denies extradition, the same fact cannot support a new request; if it authorizes extradition, the competent executive authority authorizes delivery subject to treaty and statutory commitments.
Appeal and review
Migration Law Article 91 limits the defense at the extradition hearing to identity, documentary defects and illegality, with a 10-day defense period after questioning. STF procedural motions may exist, but there is no ordinary appeal to another court; constitutional motions and clarification requests are case-specific.
03 · DEFENSES
The request still has to survive the record.
ISSUE
Treaty coverage
The charged conduct, punishment threshold, documents, and identity must fit the controlling treaty and local implementing law.
ISSUE
Dual criminality
Yes, with an enumerated-offense overlay. Treaty Articles II-III require a listed offense and possible imprisonment exceeding one year in both states. Current Migration Law Article 82 independently bars surrender if the conduct is not criminal in both states and if Brazilian law imposes imprisonment under two years; reconcile the treaty and statute in the live case.
ISSUE
Political and protected offenses
Treaty Article V excludes political and purely military offenses, time-barred cases, extraordinary tribunals, and cases Brazil intends to prosecute. Migration Law also excludes political/opinion offenses, prior Brazilian proceedings for the same fact and refugees/asylees. Treaty Article II expressly includes customs smuggling, so fiscal conduct is not categorically excluded when it falls within a listed offense.
ISSUE
Evidence and process
The request can be tested against the treaty standard, authentication requirements, limitation rules, and procedural guarantees that apply locally.
ISSUE
Human rights and punishment
Treaty Article VI allows Brazil to demand satisfactory assurances that death will not be imposed. Migration Law Article 96 requires commitments to commute death or life punishment to a term of imprisonment, credit extradition detention, honor specialty, avoid politically aggravated punishment and prevent torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The statutory text still references a 30-year cap; later Brazilian constitutional and penal changes require current case-specific confirmation.
ISSUE
Specialty and assurances
Yes. Treaty Article XXI and Migration Law Article 96 bar prosecution or punishment for pre-request conduct other than the authorized offense absent Brazil's consent, and restrict onward extradition.
04 · PUBLIC EXAMPLES
Recent public extradition records.
These examples come from public government records and are not presented as Spodek Law Group matters or results.
Saiful Islam
human-smuggling conspiracy and bringing noncitizens for financial gain
Mohammad Al Sharairei
controlled-substance-analogue distribution; official sentencing release confirms prior extradition from Brazil
Alleged Connecticut fraud defendant
fraud charges; official DOJ page requires re-verification because access was blocked
05 · THE CHARGES
What appears in the requests.
A Red Notice is not the extradition order.
A Red Notice asks police worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person, subject to each country's law. It is not an international arrest warrant, and it does not replace the treaty papers or the local extradition case.
The notice, the provisional-arrest request, and the surrender proceeding are separate records. Each can carry different defects, deadlines, and remedies.
07 · THIRD-COUNTRY RISK
Transit can expose a person to another country's arrest rules, immigration powers, or provisional request. This page gives no route or evasion advice. Review the actual warrant, notice, release conditions, and jurisdictions with counsel before travel.
08 · QUESTIONS
What families and targets ask first.
IMMEDIATE EXTRADITION QUESTIONS
No. A Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest, not an international arrest warrant or a finding of extraditability. Brazil's arrest law, the treaty record, and the local surrender process still control.
AUTHORITIESwww.interpol.int
It can. Border screening may expose a national warrant, INTERPOL data, immigration authority, or a provisional request under another country's law. This is not travel or evasion advice; the actual records and jurisdictions require review before travel.
AUTHORITIESwww.interpol.int
Release depends on Brazil's current law, the arrest authority, flight-risk findings, and the stage of the request. No general website answer can predict it. Local counsel should address custody while U.S. counsel verifies the federal matter and request.
AUTHORITIESwww.justice.gov
Not automatically. Extradition, asylum, immigration removal, and non-refoulement are separate legal systems that may interact. The forum, protected status, alleged conduct, treaty, and current human-rights evidence determine which arguments are available.
AUTHORITIESwww.justice.gov
COUNTRY PROCEDURE
Yes. The 1961 treaty and 1962 protocol both entered into force on December 17, 1964.
AUTHORITIESwww.planalto.gov.brwww.govinfo.gov
No. Migration Law Article 82 and Brazil's Constitution bar extradition of a Brazilian by birth.
AUTHORITIESplanalto.gov.br
Only in the Constitution's limited circumstances, including certain pre-naturalization common crimes or proven illicit narcotics involvement.
AUTHORITIESplanalto.gov.brwww.planalto.gov.br
The treaty uses a list of offenses plus dual criminality and a more-than-one-year treaty threshold; current Brazilian law also applies a two-year Brazilian penalty floor.
AUTHORITIEStreaties.un.orgplanalto.gov.br
The treaty gives a maximum of 60 days from provisional arrest for the fully supported formal request.
AUTHORITIEStreaties.un.org
The STF decides legality; delivery after a favorable judgment also requires executive authorization and statutory commitments.
AUTHORITIESplanalto.gov.br
Yes. Article 91 provides a 10-day defense period after questioning, focused on identity, documentary form and illegality.
AUTHORITIESplanalto.gov.br
Not without satisfactory protection. Treaty Article VI addresses death assurances and Migration Law Article 96 requires commutation commitments.
AUTHORITIEStreaties.un.orgplanalto.gov.br
Yes, but Brazil decides characterization and may treat an ordinary crime as the principal offense despite political connection.
AUTHORITIEStreaties.un.orgplanalto.gov.br
No authoritative average was located. STF litigation, nationality, domestic proceedings, health and assurances can materially extend timing.
AUTHORITIESplanalto.gov.brwww.justice.gov
09 · RESEARCH LIMITS
What the public record does not settle.
10 · SOURCES
Every material claim should have a file behind it.
11 · REGIONAL INDEX
Related country files.
WHO REVIEWS THE FIRST CALL
Start with the paper, the posture, and the first deadline.
Todd A. Spodek leads the firm's federal defense work. The team identifies the active U.S. matter, the country and custody posture, and where appropriately licensed local counsel is required. No webpage can replace review of the actual request.
Todd Spodek - biography and record →SECURE CONSULTATION REQUEST
Put the actual extradition record in front of counsel.
Tell us whether this is an inquiry, Red Notice, detention, hearing, or appeal. The intake team will identify conflicts and the right next step. Urgent custody and hearing matters should call.
212 300 5196 - urgent matters →