a general close to Jair Bolsonaro arrested

A former defense minister of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, suspected of having “directed” an alleged coup d'état plan and attempting to obstruct the investigation, was arrested on Saturday, December 14, in Brazil.

Minister in 2021-2022, General Walter Braga Netto was Mr. Bolsonaro's running mate in the presidential election of October 2022, lost to the current left-wing head of state, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The arrest was ordered by Judge Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), due to the “very serious involvement” from the general to the coup d'état project, “in a real role of management, organization and financing, in addition to relevant indications indicating that he acted repeatedly to obstruct the investigation”.

General Walter “Braga Netto was arrested”a police source confirmed to Agence France-Presse.

« Participation active »

At the end of November, the federal police (PF) recommended indicting Mr. Bolsonaro, 69, and several of his relatives, for their alleged involvement in this planned coup d'état aimed at preventing the inauguration of Lula, whose General Braga Netto. According to the elements of the investigation, Mr. Braga Netto had a « participation active » in the attempt to put pressure on commanders of the Brazilian armed forces to “join the coup project”.

The general would also be involved in obtaining and disbursing funds for surveillance operations, and for “the planning of kidnappings and, possibly, homicides of persons holding public authority”.

He would also have acted to obtain information protected by judicial secrecy on the progress of the investigation and would have put pressure so that “participation of persons under investigation is not fully disclosed”. His defense assured of being able to “prove that there was no obstruction of the investigation”.

The general had already been the subject of a police operation in February as part of the investigation into “the criminal organization which acted in the attempted coup d’état”but had not then been incarcerated.

Police believe Mr Bolsonaro and 36 of his relatives should be prosecuted for “the crimes of violent abolition of the rule of law, coup d’état and criminal organization”. She gathered evidence for two years and wrote an 884-page report, now in the hands of the public prosecutor, Paulo Gonet, who must decide whether to follow through on the requests for indictments. According to investigators, Mr. Bolsonaro had “fully conscious” of the “clandestine acts aimed at abolishing the rule of law” and there was “participated actively”. He also had “fully conscious” of an operation aimed at assassinating Lula.

“Green and yellow dagger”

In addition to the left-wing leader, the assassinations of others were also planned, including Geraldo Alckmin, then vice-president-elect, and Judge de Moraes.

Called “Green and yellow dagger”the plan to kill Lula would have been discussed in the very house of General Braga Netto. And the plan was printed at the Planalto, the presidential palace, according to investigators.

Among the evidence gathered by the PF is also a manuscript seized from the headquarters of Mr. Bolsonaro's Liberal Party (PL), in the belongings of an advisor to Mr. Braga Netto. Under the code name “Operation 142”the document mentions options like “interruption of the transition process”, “cancellation of elections” et “extension of mandates”.

Lula won by a narrow margin in the second round of the presidential election, at the end of October 2022, and began his third term on 1^is January 2023. He had previously been president from 2003 to 2010.

The coup did not take place, but on January 8, 2023, a few days after Lula's inauguration, thousands of supporters of Jair Bolsonaro invaded and vandalized the buildings in Brasilia housing the presidency, the STF and the Parliament.

Mr. Bolsonaro, who left for the United States a few days earlier, is the subject of another investigation to determine whether he was at the origin of these riots.