Brazil's former defense minister arrested for attempting to overthrow the government

Brazil's former defense minister arrested for attempting to overthrow the government

Kyiv  •  UNN

 • 10212 views

Brazil's federal police have detained Walter Braga Neto on suspicion of organizing a coup d'état after the 2022 elections. The former defense minister was one of the key organizers of the attempt to prevent the inauguration of new President Lula.

Brazilian Federal Police detained former Defense Minister Walter Braga Neto. He is accused of conspiracy to commit a coup d'état. This happened after Jair Bolsonaro's defeat in the 2022 presidential election. Reuters reports UNN

Details

Braga Neto, a retired army general, previously headed Bolsonaro's administration and was his vice presidential candidate in the 2022 elections. Bolsonaro lost the election to the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after which the country began organizing a conspiracy to overturn the results.

In its statement, the Federal Police did not mention Braga Netto's name, but confirmed that it had executed an arrest warrant, two search and seizure warrants, and applied a preventive measure to individuals who allegedly obstructed the investigation.

According to the investigation, Braga Netto was one of the key organizers of the coup attempt aimed at preventing Lula's inauguration. Along with him, Bolsonaro, former government ministers and former commanders of the armed forces are involved in the case.

Braga Netto himself declined to comment, but he had previously publicly denied any involvement in any violations.

This arrest is another step in the investigation of the conspiracy, which began after the storming of government buildings in Brasilia in January 2023, where Bolsonaro's supporters tried to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.

Previously

UNN reported that the Brazilian police had uncovered Bolsonaro's secret plan for a coup d'état.