Brazil Indicts Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro for Allegedly Plotting to Poison Socialist President Lula
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Brazil’s Federal Police indicted conservative former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 other individuals on Thursday on charges of allegedly plotting to poison President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and stage a coup in 2022.
The Federal Police allege that Bolsonaro, together with the 36 other indicted individuals, conspired in the days following his narrow defeat against Lula in the October 2022 presidential election to overturn the results and assassinate then-President-elect Lula, then-Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Minister Alexandre de Moraes.
The list of men indicted alongside Bolsonaro includes Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid — reportedly the case’s “whistleblower” — the president of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party Valdemar Costa Neto, some former members of Bolsonaro’s administration, and members of the military, among others. Bolsonaro, according to the police indictment, allegedly acted as the “leader of a criminal organization” that sought to conspire to keep him in power following his electoral defeat in late 2022.
“The evidence was obtained through several police investigations carried out over almost two years, based on the breaking of computer, telephone, banking and tax confidentiality, plea bargains, searches and seizures, among other measures duly authorized by the Judiciary,” the Brazilian Federal Police said on Thursday in an official statement.
The indicted face “coup,” “violent abolition of the democratic rule of law,” and “organized crime” charges. If found guilty, each charge reportedly bears a potential sentence ranging from three to 12 years in prison.
Brazilian outlets reported that, according to the police’s 884-page report, a group of military personnel from the “black kids” Special Forces unit allegedly aimed to stage a coup and prevent Lula’s government from taking office. The plan allegedly included killing Lula, Alckmin, and de Moraes. The purported assassination plot, named “Green and Yellow Dagger,” would allegedly have been executed on December 15, 2022, two weeks before Lula took office on January 1, 2023.
“The plan drawn up by those under investigation detailed the human and military resources needed to carry out the actions, using advanced military operational techniques, in addition to the subsequent establishment of an ‘Institutional Crisis Management Office’ to be integrated by the investigated parties themselves to manage institutional conflicts arising as a result of the actions,” the Federal Police stated.
CNN Brasil reported that, according to the Federal Police investigation, a document containing the purported assassination plans was printed on November 9, 2022, at the Alvorada Palace, the official residence of the president.
The document was allegedly printed roughly a week after Lula defeated Bolsonaro in the October 2022 presidential runoff election. Bolsonaro, the then-outgoing president, still resided in Alvorada at the time the document was allegedly printed. The document with the plans was allegedly printed a second time at the president’s office, Planalto, on December 6, 2022.
Hours after the indictment Bolsonaro issued a statement to the Brazilian outlet Metropoles condemning STF Minister de Moraes, the case’s rapporteur.
“Minister Alexandre de Moraes conducts the entire investigation, adjusts testimonies, arrests without charges, fishes for evidence and has a very creative advisory board. He does everything the law doesn’t say,” Bolsonaro reportedly said.
“We have to see what’s in this Federal Police indictment. I’ll wait for the lawyer. Obviously, this will go to the Attorney General’s Office,” he continued. “The [Attorney General’s Office] is where the fight begins. I can’t expect anything from a team that uses creativity to denounce me.”
Bolsonaro also shared a copy of the statement he issued to Metrópoles on his official Twitter account.
Metrópoles confirmed on Friday morning that de Moraes will send the case to the Attorney General’s Office on Monday, November 25. CNN Brasil reported that, upon receiving the case, the attorney general will have up to 15 days to decide whether to close the case, accept it, or ask for further investigations.
According to unnamed court sources cited by CNN Brasil, the trial could take place sometime between March and April 2025. Unnamed criminal lawyers interviewed by the outlet expressed that it is more “feasible” for the trial to take place in June 2025 because “the parties can request expert reports.”
Thursday marked the third time Bolsonaro has been indicted after leaving office in January 2023. Other court proceedings have resulted in Bolsonaro being banned from running for public office until 2030.
The former president was indicted in July on charges of embezzlement, criminal association, and money laundering in relation to accusations that Bolsonaro misappropriated jewelry he received from the government of Saudi Arabia. If found guilty, Bolsonaro could face from ten to 32 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
In March, Bolsonaro was indicted in a separate case on charges of conspiracy and inserting false data into government information systems. Bolsonaro is accused of falsifying proof of receiving a Wuhan coronavirus vaccine product to travel to the United States between December 2022 and March 2023 – at a time when the administration of outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden banned foreign travelers from entering the country without proof of having received an approved coronavirus vaccine if attempting to enter the country legally.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva commented on the alleged 2022 assassination plot in remarks during an official Thursday evening event at Planalto.
“I’m a guy who has a lot more to be thankful for because I’m alive. The attempt to poison me and [Vice President] Alckmin didn’t work — we’re here,” Lula said.
“And I don’t want to poison anyone. I don’t even want to persecute anyone. The only thing I want is that when my term ends, we demoralize with numbers those who governed before us,” he continued. “I want to measure with numbers who has built more schools in this country, who has taken more care of the poor in this country.”
Bolsonaro himself is the survivor of a documented, and nearly successful, assassination attempt, which was caught on video. During a campaign rally in 2018, a former member of a socialist political party stabbed Bolsonaro in the abdomen, taking advantage of the large crowd to inch close to the then-lawmaker and presidential candidate. Bolsonaro has suffered major health complications during the past six years as a result of significant damage done to his digestive system by the stabbing.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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