Brazilian police on Tuesday arrested five people, including a member of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s government, on suspicion of involvement in an alleged plan to kill then-President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2022, days before he takes office.
Documents seized by the police revealed a plan to shoot or poison Lula and his elected vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, and to appoint two retired army generals, National Security Advisor Augusto Heleno and former Defense Minister Braga Neto, in charge of leading the country with the idea of holding elections. New elections.
The police said in a statement that the plot included an attempt to kill a Supreme Court judge using an explosive device or poison.
The army confirmed the arrest of retired Brigadier General Mario Fernandez, who served as deputy minister in Bolsonaro’s government, and Lieutenants Helio Ferreira Lima, Rodrigo Bezerra de Azevedo, and Rafael Martinez de Oliveira.
The officers were in Rio de Janeiro but did not participate in the security operation for the summit of leaders of the Group of 20 major economies in the city, according to the army statement.
Most of the men under investigation in the alleged 2022 coup plot are military personnel with special forces training, or close aides to Bolsonaro, the far-right former army officer who won the presidency in 2018.
These arrests were the first time that federal police described a plot to kill Lula and Alcmene and stage a coup to prevent him from returning to power.
Police identified the main conspirator as Fernandez, who was found in possession of a conspiracy outline printed at the presidential palace.
“A detailed operational plan called ‘Green and Yellow Dagger’ has been identified, which will be implemented on December 15, 2022, with the aim of killing the elected candidates for the position of president and vice president,” the police said in a statement.
Federal police issued five arrest warrants on Tuesday, without naming the men arrested, in addition to three search and seizure warrants and 15 other precautionary measures.
These included preventing suspects from contacting others and preventing them from leaving the country.
“Investigations indicate that the criminal organization used a high level of technical and military know-how to plan, coordinate and carry out illegal acts in November and December 2022,” the police statement said.
Federal police investigation
Lula defeated Bolsonaro in presidential elections in October 2022, and the leftist leader took office on January 1, 2023. Bolsonaro has filled his cabinet with military officers, many of whom are opponents of Lula.
Bolsonaro left Brazil days before Lula was inaugurated as president of Florida and never admitted his electoral defeat. He eventually returned to Brazil and is under investigation for his alleged role in encouraging riots in Brasilia on January 8, 2023, when his supporters stormed and vandalized government buildings in the capital, hoping to spark chaos and motivate the military to seize power.
A source familiar with the investigation told Reuters that a federal police investigation would conclude that Bolsonaro conspired to orchestrate the coup attempt after losing the election. The investigation is expected to conclude this month.
Bolsonaro has not issued any public comment on the coup plot allegations. Reuters was trying to reach representatives of the former president and Fernandez for comment.
The Brazilian army monitored the federal operation against the coup plotters, which was carried out on Tuesday in the states of Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Goiás and Amazonas.
According to the sources Reuters spoke to, the conspirators also planned to kill Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who led investigations into Bolsonaro on charges of abuse of power and launching unproven attacks on Brazil’s voting system while he was president, and bar him from running for elected office until 2030.
More than 2,000 people were arrested for participating in the January 2023 uprising in Brasilia, although most were later released. The Supreme Court convicted others of involvement in an attempted coup.