AFP, AP and Prensa Latina
La Jornada Newspaper
Sunday, December 15, 2024, p. 17
Brasilia. The Brazilian authorities yesterday arrested General Walter Braga Netto, former Minister of Defense of the former far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, for participating in the attempted coup d’état in 2022 and obstructing investigations.
The arrest warrant was issued by Judge Alexandre de Moraes, of the Supreme Federal Court, by the very serious participation of the military command in the coup plot in a true management, organization and financing role.
As a high-ranking figure in the armed forces, Braga Netto also had a active participation in an attempt to pressure the commanders of the Brazilian armed forces to join the riotaccording to the investigation.
In addition, he would have acted to obtain information under judicial secrecy about the investigation and to pressure for the participation of the accused was not revealed in a comprehensive manner; Meanwhile, the general’s defense explained that he could verify that there was no obstruction of the investigations.
After collecting evidence for two years, the Brazilian Federal Police (PF) recommended indicting Bolsonaro and 36 others accused of the crimes of violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état and criminal organization.
The Supreme Court statement stated that the police have evidence that suggested that Braga Netto was involved in securing and delivering financial resources for the plot.
The plan, called Green and Yellow Daggerwould have been discussed in the general’s house and was supposedly printed in the Planalto palace, seat of the Brazilian presidency.
Among the evidence gathered by the PF is a manuscript about the coup project, which was found at the headquarters of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party, among the belongings of a Braga Netto advisor.
Under the title Operation 142the document mentions alternatives to retain power, such as interrupting the transition process, annulling elections and extending mandates.
The strategy included assassinating the then presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the elected vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, and the Supreme Court judge, Alexandre de Moraes.
The murderous plan sought to leave Bolsonaro’s candidacy as the only one valid in the 2022 second round, the police detailed. De Moraes led a five-year investigation into fake news and threats against officials of the highest court, which led to some far-right allies and supporters being excluded from social networks and even imprisoned.
The R7 portal assured that, in addition to Braga Netto, Colonel Flavio Botelho Peregrino, advisor to the former minister, is the target of the orders. The Brazilian general was formally accused in November, along with Bolsonaro and 35 others, of plotting the coup to keep the far-right in office after his failed re-election in 2022.
