Brazil condemns handcuffing of deportees on flight from US

26/1/2025 12:39

Brazilian officials demanded that U.S. agents remove handcuffs from a group of deportees who were flown to the South American country on Friday, with a prominent minister in President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government calling the practice "blatant disrespect" for the rights of his fellow citizens.



Federal police, acting under the instructions of Brazilian Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, met the flight after it made an unexpected landing in the Amazonian city of Manaus due to technical problems, the Brazilian government said in a statement on Saturday.



The plane, which was carrying 88 Brazilian passengers, 16 U.S. security agents, and eight crew members, had been originally scheduled to arrive in Belo Horizonte in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, the statement said.



The handcuffs were removed from the passengers after the intervention of the Brazilian police, the government said.



After he was informed of the incident, Lula ordered that the passengers be flown aboard a Brazilian Air Force plane to their final destination, ensuring they could complete their journey with "dignity and safety," according to a Brazilian Justice Ministry statement.