Brasil police arrested five for assassination plan on President Lula

Brasil police arrested five for assassination plan on President Lula

The Brazilian police arrested five people, including a former advisor to ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, because of a suspected plan for the murder of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.

background of the murder plan

The coup plan was launched, according to the federal police, at the end of 2022, before Lula took office. In addition to the murder of the then presidential election, the plan also included projects to capture or murder Lula's Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and the Supreme Court of Justice Alexandre de Moraes. This emerges from the arrest warrant of the Supreme Court.

Details on the arrests

The arrest warrant, which was signed by Moraes on Sunday, approved the preventive imprisonment of the five suspects, including the retired General Mário Fernandes. According to CNN Brasil, Fernandes was previously the second top officer of the Directorate General of the Presidency during the term of Bolsonaro. It is unclear whether he has a lawyer.

scope of the conspiracy

The federal police reported that the alleged plan also included other military personnel with training in special forces. "The planning that the suspects worked out included detailed information about the personnel and military resources that are required to carry out the actions using advanced military operating techniques," said the police.

goals and methods of the conspiracy

The plan provided for the creation of an “office for crisis management” in the Brazilian government, which was to be controlled by the coup mistakes. According to the arrest warrant, the alleged conspirators took into account various methods to carry out political murders, including the use of poison or explosives.

"For the murder of President Lula, the document describes the possibility of using his health susceptibility and frequent visits to the hospital, poison or chemical substances in order to bring about organic collapse," the arrest warrant quotes the investigation into the consumption

reactions to the arrests

In addition to the five arrested people, the authorities have announced that the suspects must not leave the country or have contact with other people who may be involved in the plot. In this context, Bolsonaro was targeted in February of this year because of the alleged plan. The investigation should be completed at the end of this month, Reuters reported, citing a source with direct knowledge of the case.

allegations against Bolsonaro and his reactions

According to a police action command carried out on Tuesday, Bolsonaro is said to have been met with officers from the army and marine and the Minister of Defense in December 2022 to present a document that sketched the legal framework to keep it in power. The former president has repeatedly rejected the allegations of an attempted coup

his son, Flavio Bolsonaro, the Senator in Brazilian congress, said in a post on X that the five suspects had not committed a crime. "As disgusting as it may be to think about killing someone, it is not a crime. And so that there can be an attempt, the execution must be interrupted by a situation that is outside the control of the perpetrators. Which does not seem to be the case here," he wrote.

political unrest in Brazil

in October 2022 Lula won the presidential elections extremely narrowly against Bolsonaro. The followers of Bolsonaro did not accept the results and rioted in the capital Brasilia by storming government buildings on January 8, 2023.