10 wanted foreigners who received shelter in Brazil

The commitment not to extradite foreigners, which emerged in the late nineteenth century, made Brazil a very promising destination for fleeing international wanted. It is no wonder that over and over you hear on the news about the arrest of an international accused and the extradition requests from his native country. All in vain.

The list of wanted foreigners that have already been sheltered by Brazil is extensive, not to mention the many others who are not even arrested and hiding here. Among the "protégés" are former dictators, Nazis, among other little "dear" figures in their countries.

1. Ronald Biggs

Biggs was arrested a year after taking part in the famous heist to the pay train in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1963. After escaping, he landed in Rio de Janeiro in 1970 and was recognized four years later. But he was not extradited because his girlfriend - Brazilian - was pregnant. He became a true celebrity in Brazil and in 2001 decided to return to England, where he was arrested as soon as he touched the ground. He passed away in 2013, four years after winning parole. The flags of the United Kingdom and Brazil were placed on their coffin.

(Photo: AFP)

2. Albert Pierre

Accused of murdering, torturing and violating the human rights of opponents to his country's regime, Albert Pierre ended up in Fernando de Noronha. He was a former head of Haiti's secret police and came to Brazil after the fall of the Baby Doc Duvalier government in 1986. The demise of the government made thousands flee the country and he was one of Haiti's top wanted.

(Photo: Reproduction)

3. Cesare Battisti

Sentenced to 12 years in prison in Italy after the alleged murder of four people in 1979, Cesare Battisti, a former member of the Communist Armed Proletarians (PAC), fled to Brazil after passing through France. In 2007, he was arrested in Rio de Janeiro with false documents. In 2011, the Supreme Court (Supreme Court) decided not to extradite him, but in December 2018 the Italians eventually got extradited and today he is serving time in his home country.

(Photo: AFP)

4. Roger Pinto Molina

Accused of participating in the Porvenir massacre in September 2008, former Bolivian MP Roger Pinto Molina took refuge in the Brazilian embassy of La Paz in 2012 and secured political asylum in Brazil. He fled Bolivia with the help of Brazilian authorities. Molina died in Brasilia in 2017.

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

5. Alfredo Stroessner

Heading the Paraguayan government between 1954 and 1989, former dictator Alfredo Stroessner had the longest term in South American history by "winning" six elections. He is held responsible for 900 murders and disappearances. Stroessner lived as a refugee in Brazil and died in Brasilia in 2006.

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

6. Achille Lollo

Combatant of the Italian group Power Worker, Achille Lollo was sentenced to 18 years in prison for two murders committed when the group set fire to a house. He was arrested in 1993 in Rio de Janeiro, but extradition was denied.

(Photo: Il Messaggero / Reproduction)

7. Olivério Medina

A member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the well-known FARC, former priest Olivério Medina was arrested in Brazil in 2000 and 2005. In 2006, he obtained refugee status.

(Playback: Youtube)

8. George Bidault

Founder of the Organization Armée Secrète group, former Prime Minister of France George Bidault was opposed to former President Charles de Gaulle's policy of granting independence to Algeria. His group is accused of killing 2, 000 people in bombings between 1962 and 1963. He fled to Brazil, where he lived for four years before earning amnesty in France.

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

9. Pietro Mancini

Convicted of murder in Italy, Pietro Mancini participated in the organization of the Workers' Autonomy movement. Mancini fled to Brazil, which denied his extradition in 2005. Here, he became naturalized Brazilian, created a production company and worked on election campaigns.

10. Gustav Wagner

Responsible for selecting who would be used in forced labor and who would be sent to the gas chambers, Gustav Wagner was a member of the SS and worked in the Sobibor extermination camp in Poland. Nicknamed the Beast and Wolf, he fled at the end of World War II to escape execution. Wagner arrived in Brazil in 1950 and lived in Atibaia until 1978, when he was found by "Nazi hunter" Simon Wisenthal. Brazil rejected extradition requests from Israel, Poland, Austria and Germany, but in 1980 he was found dead with a knife to his heart. Authorities considered the case as suicide.

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)