A judge of the Supreme Court of Brazil ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to hand over his passport within 24 hours, within the framework of the police operation this Thursday against the military and political allies of the far-right leader for attempted coup d'état, media reported. local.
The decision was made by Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who is leading investigations in the high court into the coup plot that, according to authorities, acted during and after the 2022 elections to keep Bolsonaro in power and prevent the assumption of office. Government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The Federal Police served 33 search warrants and 4 prison warrants in several Brazilian states within this major operation that directly targets the former president and several of his closest associates, including high-ranking military officers.
According to the Brazilian press, former ministers and Army generals Walter Braga Netto, Augusto Heleno and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, who were part of Bolsonaro's cabinet (2019-2022), and former Navy commander Almir Garnier Santos were subject to searches. .
Also on that list are former Minister of Justice Anderson Torres, who was already being investigated for the coup attack on January 8, 2023 carried out by Bolsonaro supporters, and Valdemar Costa Neto, president of the Liberal Party (PL), a party that leads the former Brazilian president.
The Federal Police suspect that this group of politicians and soldiers were part of a “criminal organization” that acted “in the attempted coup d'état” to “keep the then president of the Republic in power,” according to the institution stated in a note.
The seizure of Bolsonaro's passport is part of the 48 precautionary measures ordered by the Supreme Court against those investigated, which also includes “the prohibition of maintaining contact” with the rest of the suspects and leaving the country; and the suspension of his public functions.
Bolsonaro, a retired Army captain and leader of the Brazilian extreme right, was already being investigated in the Supreme Court for “inciting” his followers to invade and destroy the headquarters of the Presidency, the Supreme Court and Congress on January 8, 2023. in an attempt to overthrow Lula's Government, which had taken office a week earlier.
According to the Federal Police, those investigated constructed a narrative to sow doubts about the result of the 2022 elections, in which Lula defeated Bolsonaro, through false information about the electronic ballot boxes that the country has used since 1996 in its electoral processes. and they never gave any problems.
The Police also assured that the group acted “to subsidize the abolition of the Democratic State of Law, through a coup d'état, with the support of military personnel with the knowledge and tactics of special forces in a politically sensitive environment.”
EFE
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