Bolsonarist detained in Argentina shares lawyer with Milei and awaits extradition
Wellington Firmino, a Brazilian fugitive convicted to 17 years for the 8 January assault, lives in Buenos Aires under house arrest. His lawyer is Francisco Oneto, the same legal counsel as Javier Milei.
The fugitive from 8 January who found refuge—and a lawyer—in Argentina
Wellington Firmino is 35 years old, is serving house arrest in an apartment in central Buenos Aires and shares a lawyer with President Javier Milei. This was revealed by perfil.com after an exclusive interview with the Brazilian, one of five Bolsonarists remaining in Argentina whilst Brazil demands his extradition.
Firmino participated on 8 January 2023 in protests against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasilia. He was detained that same day and spent eleven months in prison until the Brazilian judiciary allowed him to wait for trial in freedom. In April 2024, whilst donating blood, he received a call warning him that he could return to prison. He took his motorcycle and, with nothing but the clothes on his back, travelled 2,400 kilometres to Buenos Aires. He later settled in Córdoba, where he obtained an Argentine national identity card and found employment.
The failed escape to the United States
Upon learning of the arrest of two other Brazilians who had also fled to Argentina, Firmino says he panicked. Together with a group of Bolsonarists, he planned an escape overland to the United States. The attempt failed: he was intercepted at the Jujuy border, where he remained locked in a Gendarmería cell for 53 days.
It was during that period that Francisco Oneto, Milei's habitual lawyer, appeared. According to Firmino's account, initially a person acting as intermediary offered him Oneto's services in exchange for 30,000 dollars. He refused to pay. Between seven and ten days later, Oneto returned and proposed taking on the case without fees. Today, Oneto's firm and an independent lawyer are handling the case.
Convicted to 17 years, awaiting the Supreme Court
The Brazilian judiciary convicted Firmino to 17 years in prison for attempted coup d'état. Brazil formally requested his extradition; federal judge Daniel Rafecas granted it, but the case is under review before the Argentine Supreme Court of Justice. In parallel, Firmino has pending a request for permanent refuge before the National Commission for Refugees (CONARE).
Firmino denies having committed any crime on 8 January. He asserts that he went to protest, that he did not participate in the assault on public buildings and that he entered them because the police themselves led the protesters inside. He keeps records on his mobile phone from that moment.
Musk and the virality of the case
The Brazilian is not a low-profile fugitive. In October 2024 he published a video in front of an Argentine Air Force building, where he mocked judge Alexandre de Moraes: "I am here. You will not catch me," he said with laughter. The images went viral. Months earlier, in March, he had managed to get Elon Musk to comment on his situation on X: "Unless I am missing something here, the punishment is disproportionately excessive in relation to the crime," wrote the magnate.
The support network and the link with Argentine officialdom
Regarding the assistance he receives, Firmino is cautious. "Indirectly, it may be that I have received some help," he said when asked about the affinity between Milei and Bolsonarism. Beyond his own case, he points out that two other Brazilians in a similar situation are being represented by Damián Ezequiel Vega, whom he identifies as a lawyer linked to Patricia Bullrich. Two sources from Bullrich's circle consulted by perfil.com said they did not know him.
Revista Crisis reproduced in Argentina a work from The Intercept Brasil that described a network of legal and financial assistance for fugitives. Firmino presents it as an organisation that emerged spontaneously amongst people sharing a similar situation, and asserts that his family helps him cover the expenses involved in house arrest.
The political context also weighs. Firmino recalls a June 2024 tweet from then-foreign minister Diana Mondino: "Argentina will be a sanctuary for those being persecuted for exercising their freedom of expression. Any law-abiding citizen will find protection on our soil and in our embassies." For Bolsonarists in flight, that message was read as a signal.
Political visits and the shadow of confinement
The only La Libertad Avanza leader he mentions with recognition is deputy Celeste Ponce. "She was the only one who went to visit the prisoners," he says. In December 2024, Ponce travelled to the Eighth Police Station in La Plata together with Eduardo Bolsonaro to meet with two other detained Bolsonarists, Joelton Gusmão de Oliveira and Rodrigo de Freitas Moro Ramalho.
Firmino also sought help from UNHCR and the Brazilian Embassy, without success. At one point he approached the office of Fernando Cerimedo, a prominent figure in the libertarian sphere with strong ties to Bolsonarism, located in Puerto Madero. "I did not find him. Now I think I was fortunate," he acknowledged.
During his imprisonment in Brazil, he witnessed the death of Bolsonarist Cleriston Pereira da Cunha, who died of a heart attack. His confinement in Jujuy affected him in another way: "I almost went mad," he states. He describes the Ezeiza prison as the least harsh of those he knew, but rules out the possibility of being locked up again.
Expectation around Lei da Dosimetria
With the Brazilian runoff ballot set for 25 October, some of the Bolsonarists in Argentina are closely following their country's politics. Firmino believes that a change in government could help, although he places his hopes mainly in the so-called Lei da Dosimetria, which would modify the calculation of sentences for crimes linked to 8 January. "After all this, there is no way to say I do not want to know more about politics, because everything in life is politics," he concluded.
Source: Google News AR — Crime