Dual Citizen Charged in Art Dealer's Brazil Murder

Daniel Sikkema, a dual American-Cuban citizen and estranged husband of renowned art dealer Brent Sikkema, faces charges of hiring a hitman to murder his spouse amid a contentious divorce. Brent Sikkema was found stabbed to death in his Rio de Janeiro home in January 2024, and the hitman, Alejandro Triana Prevez, was arrested shortly thereafter. Federal investigators allege that Daniel Sikkema offered Prevez $200,000 for the murder, using intermediaries to transfer payments and conceal his involvement. The charges against Daniel Sikkema include conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, murder-for-hire resulting in death, and passport fraud, carrying a potential life sentence or death penalty if convicted. Surveillance footage and testimony from Prevez, who confessed to the crime, support the allegations against Daniel Sikkema. The case has sent shockwaves through the art world, given Brent Sikkema's prominence and the brutal nature of the crime.