the sponsors of the political assassination of Marielle Franco arrested

It was a promise from Lula, justice has just removed a large part of the mystery surrounding the assassination of this municipal councilor from the city of Rio, shot dead in the street in March 2018, a few months before the election of Jair Bolsonaro , a blow that could be fatal to him.

The citizen movement “Who killed Marielle?” has been demanding for six years the names of those responsible for the political assassination of Marielle Franco. Three suspects were taken into custody on Sunday March 24. The profile of these three men confirms the convictions of all those who have been demanding justice every day for six years. Three arrests took place on Sunday in the beautiful neighborhoods of Rio, those of the two Brazao brothers, Domingos, former advisor to the Court of Auditors and Chiquinho, deputy of the State of Rio. And the third suspect is none other than Rivaldo Barbosa, the former head of the civil police, responsible for a time for supervising the investigation into the assassination of Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes.

And to complete this trio, the profile of the two killers is just as interesting. These are two former military police officers, who have been imprisoned since 2019. In this case, there is the typical pattern of Rio militias: former police officers, soldiers, politicians, magistrates, firefighters… Criminal organizations which are often much more dangerous than gangs and which control a large part of the city’s neighborhoods, and even well beyond.

Militias whose methods were denounced by Marielle Franco

Marielle Franco devoted the entirety of her short political life to denouncing them. An energetic figure on the Brazilian left, she was a young black woman from the favelas and an LGBT activist. This political assassination deeply shocked the country. For many Brazilians, the death of Marielle Franco has, for six years, symbolized the total impunity of militia action in the territory. Sunday’s dragnet is just as symbolic for Brazilian Defense Minister Ricardo Lewandowski. “This is a victory for the Brazilian state and our law enforcement agencies in their fight against organized crime. What the investigations reveal is the modus operandi of the militias in Rio de Janeiro. A complex, sprawling scheme and I have the impression that from this affair, we may be able to continue to pull the thread of a ball whose size still escapes us”did he declare.

Lula regularly alluded to links between Bolsonaro and militias

Subtext, the message is clear, Brazilian justice will be interested in all those who are linked to this organization, and why not a former baron of the city, deputy of Rio for 28 years. And why not a man who would have even acceded to the Brazilian presidency in 2018, just a few weeks after the death of Marielle Franco. A former head of state who would have canceled the orders allowing the identification of the ammunition used by the assassins. A president who would have allowed one of the three sponsors to be protected by a diplomatic passport. This investigation stalled during Jair Bolsonaro’s four years in office and it is also for political reasons that it is being resolved today. Jair Bolsonaro is already the target of five legal proceedings (management of COVID, attempted coup d’état, etc.). If his links with the Rio militias have never been clearly established, his successor Lula regularly alluded to them in his campaign speeches, and we can be certain that he will let justice do its work.