Safety · Pavia and Curitiba
Italian police arrest fugitive Brazilian neo-Nazi leader João Guilherme Correa
Correa, condemned for a 2009 double homicide and leading a white supremacist network, was caught Saturday after 15 months on the run.
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In brief
João Guilherme Correa was captured by Digos police in a Pavia farm on 27 June 2026, ending a flight that began in March 2025.
He was sentenced to over 35 years in Brazil for the 2009 execution of a couple during an internal neo-Nazi leadership struggle.
Correa headed the Brazilian branch of the international white supremacist network, linked to Combat18 and under investigation for promoting racial hatred.
An Interpol red notice issued in October 2025 labelled him dangerous and violent, aiding cooperation that traced him to northern Italy.
- 1 JunEnters Italy under false identity, begins moving between Lombardy locations.
- 1 OctInterpol issues red notice, classifying him as dangerous, violent and a flight risk.
- 27 JunArrested by Digos Milan in a Pavia farm, held at San Vittore pending extradition.
The capture
Italian Digos anti-terrorism officers arrested João Guilherme Correa on Saturday morning, 27 June 2026. The 35-year-old Brazilian, a prominent figure in the international Hammerskin Nation neo-Nazi network, was located at a rural property in the province of Pavia, near the border with Alessandria. He had been living under a false identity and moved frequently across Lombardy before settling at the farm, used as a country club.
The crimes
Correa was convicted in Brazil to 35 years and two months in prison for the 2009 double homicide of Bernardo Pedroso and Renata Ferreira. The shooting occurred after a party marking Adolf Hitler's birthday in Quatro Barras, near Curitiba, and was linked to an internal leadership dispute within the neo-Nazi group. He also faces charges for promoting racial discrimination and incitement to racial hatred, with a parallel sentence of six years and six months foreseen under a separate Brazilian warrant.
Flight and international hunt
Correa fled Brazil on 25 March 2025, days before his sentencing, after obtaining removal of his electronic ankle bracelet by claiming urgent surgery. A Interpol red notice issued in October 2025 classified him as "dangerous, violent and at risk of flight". Italian investigators believe the same international network that supports Hammerskin may have facilitated his clandestine entry into Italy in the summer of 2025. At the moment of arrest he presented a false, non-Brazilian document.
The organization
Hammerskin Nation originated in US white supremacist circles and operates in several countries, including Italy. It is linked to Combat18, a group classified as terrorist in the UK and other EU states. Correa was arrested once before, in November 2022, when Brazilian police raided a Hammerskin summit in the south of the country and seized racist propaganda, swastikas and Nazi publications. He had been identified as the leader of the Brazilian branch.
“It is an important result in the fight against international neo-Nazism and against those who feed hate, racism and violence. Neo-Nazi organizations represent a threat to democracy and must be fought with maximum determination and through ever-closer international cooperation.”
Next steps
Correa is now held in Milan's San Vittore prison while Italian authorities initiate the extradition procedure to Brazil. No timeline has been given for the transfer.
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Sources and context
- Rai newsLeader neonazista brasiliano ricercato arrestato nel Pavese
- ANSA.itHammerskin brasiliano ricercato arrestato nel Pavese - Notizie
- SAPOItália detém líder neonazi brasileiro foragido e condenado no Brasil por homicídio
- lastampa.itArrestato in Italia João Guilherme Correa, il leader neonazista brasiliano degli Hammerskin
- João Guilherme Correa
- Brazilian Hammerskin Nation leader arrested in Italy
- Angelo Bonelli
- Italian MP, Greens and Left Alliance, who commented on the arrest
- Bernardo Pedroso
- Victim of the 2009 double homicide linked to Correa
- Renata Ferreira
- Victim of the 2009 double homicide linked to Correa
- Places
- Milan
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