SAO PAULO – Brazilian Federal Police arrested Argentine golfer Ángel Cabrera on Thursday for extradition to his homeland to face charges for several crimes allegedly committed from 2016 to last year, said two police officers.
Cabrera, who won the Masters and the US Open, was on the Interpol code red list.
Police said in a statement that the arrest was carried out in an upper class area of Rio de Janeiro, without disclosing the suspect’s name. He described him only as a 51-year-old Argentine.
Two Rio-based federal police officers separately confirmed to the Associated Press that Cabrera was the arrested man. Both agreed to provide the information only if they were anonymous, as they were not allowed to discuss the matter publicly.
The police statement said the arrest was authorized by Brazil’s higher court and that the man would be detained until his extradition to Argentina. Argentine authorities accused the suspect of assault, theft, illegal intimidation and repeated disrespect for the authorities, the statement said.
Argentine media reported in early January that Cabrera’s ex-wife, Silva Rivadero, had filed two charges against the player. The reports also state that Cecilia Torres, another ex-partner, claimed that Cabrera had punched her, threatened her and tried to run her over with her car in 2016.
Cabrera is the most talented golfer in South America. He won the United States Open at Oakmont in 2007 with a shot over Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk. He won the Masters in a playoff in 2009 and lost in a playoff in the Masters in 2013 to Adam Scott.
Cabrera has another win on the PGA Tour, and his four wins on the European Tour include his biggest event, the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth.
He did not play at the Masters when he moved to November last year because of surgery on his left wrist. Cabrera played five times in August and September on the PGA Tour Champions circuit for players aged 50 and over.