• Source: Operation Counter-coup

      • The Operation Counter-coup (Portuguese: Operação Contragolpe, Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [opeɾɐˈsɐ̃w kotɾaˈɡɔwpi]) is an investigation started by the Federal Police of Brazil on 19 November 2024, authorized by the Supreme Federal Court, to investigate crimes related to the 2022 Brazilian coup plot which aimed to prevent the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Geraldo Alckmin, president and vice president-elect of Brazil in 2022, respectively. The group under investigation, consisting of Brazilian Army Special Forces personnel and a federal police officer, allegedly planned to carry out assassinations and kidnappings of high-ranking officials using military and terrorist tactics. The operation was authorized by the Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes, who emphasized the "extreme danger" posed by the individuals involved.


      Operation details


      The investigation unveiled details of a plan by the group to monitor and assassinate Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes, the then President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice-presidente elect Geraldo Alckmin, and an unknown fourth person, rumored to be former Justice Minister Flávio Dino, using methods such as poisoning, shooting, and explosives. Among the suspects arrested were four military personnel from a special forces unit known as "black kids" and a federal police officer. One of the officers, Brigade General Mario Fernandes, had served as executive secretary of the Secretariat-General of the Presidency when the ministry was headed by General Luiz Eduardo Ramos. He also served as acting secretary during cabinet reshuffles. According to the Supreme Court ruling, the plan involved using official Command Action Battalion vehicles for monitoring and intelligence activities against the targets.
      As reported by the Brazilian Federal Police, the organization consisted of five operational cores:

      Virtual attacks (mainly through social media) against opponents
      Delegitimization of institutions such as the Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court
      Coup d’état planning
      Opposition to sanitary measures during the COVID-19 pandemic
      Misappropriation of public funds
      The Federal Police highlighted that the group began monitoring authorities' activities after a meeting at the residence of former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto in November 2022. Aide-de-camp Mauro Cid allegedly offered R$ 100,000 (approximately US$17,000 as of November 2024) to finance the assassination plot.
      Among the considered plots was the simultaneous assassination of Lula and Alckmin to extinguish the winning ticket of the 2022 election. For this, they considered using chemical substances to cause organic collapse, exploiting Lula's vulnerable health. The group accepted the possibility of the perpetrators' deaths during the operations, demonstrating a willingness to take extreme measures in favor of the coup.


      Repercussions


      In addition to gaining significant attention on social media and in local news, the case was covered extensively by international media outlets. Supporters of Lula expressed strong approval of the operation, but Bolsonaro allies, including his sons Flávio and Eduardo, sought to downplay the significance of the case, calling it a "smoke screen" and an attempt to attack the reputation of former president Jair Bolsonaro. They also questioned whether the "planning of a crime" could even be considered a crime under brazilian law.
      The international press also covered the indictment of former President Bolsonaro and 36 others for their alleged involvement in an attempted coup in Brazil.


      Indicted list


      The Federal Police indicted 37 people for the crimes of violent abolition of the democratic state of law, coup d'etat and criminal organization:

      Ailton Gonçalves Moraes Barros, retired Army captain
      Alexandre Castilho Bitencourt da Silva, Army colonel
      Alexandre Rodrigues Ramagem, former ABIN director
      Almir Garnier Santos, former Navy commander
      Amauri Feres Saad, lawyer
      Anderson Gustavo Torres, former Justice Minister
      Anderson Lima de Moura, Army colonel
      Angelo Martins Denicoli, Army major
      Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira, former head of the Institutional Security Bureau
      Bernardo Romão Corrêa Netto, Army colonel
      Carlos Cesar Moretzsohn Rocha, engineer
      Carlos Giovani Delevati Pasini, retired Army colonel
      Cleverson Ney Magalhães, Army colonel
      Estevam Cals Theóphilo Gaspar de Oliveira, Army general
      Fabrício Moreira de Barros, Defense attaché in Tel Aviv
      Filipe Garcia Martins, former special advisor to the Presidency
      Fernando Cerimedo, Argentinian influencer
      Giancarlo Gomes Rodrigues, Army sub-lieutenant
      Guilherme Marques de Almeida, Army lieutenant-colonel
      Helio Ferreira Lima, Army lieutenant-colonel
      Jair Messias Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil
      José Eduado de Oliveira e Silva, priest
      Laercio Vergílio, retired Army general
      Marcelo Bormevet, federal police officer
      Marcelo Costa Câmara, retired Army colonel
      Mario Fernandes, Army brigade general
      Mauro Cesar Barbosa Cid, former aide-de-camp
      Nilton Diniz Rodrigues, Army general
      Paulo Renato de Oliveira Figueiredo Filho, blogger
      Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira, former Defense Minister
      Rafael Martins de Oliveira, Army lieutenant colonel
      Ronald Ferreira de Araújo Júnior, Army lieutenant colonel
      Sergio Ricardo Cavaliere de Medeiros, Army lieutenant colonel
      Tércio Arnaud Tomaz, former special advisor to the Presidency
      Valdemar Costa Neto, president of the Liberal Party
      Walter Souza Braga Netto, former Defense Minister
      Wladimir Matos Soares, federal police officer
      In December, other three military were also indicted:

      Aparecido Andrade Portela, retired Army lieutenant and first substitute of senator Tereza Cristina
      Reginaldo Vieira de Abreu, Army colonel
      Rodrigo Bezerra Azevedo, Army lieutenant colonel


      See also


      2022 Brazilian coup plot


      References

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