Brazão brothers are responsible for Marielle’s death, concludes Federal Police

Rio de Janeiro

Federal deputy and TCE-RJ advisor were arrested during PF Operation this Sunday morning (24)

The Federal Police (PF) concluded that brothers Domingos and Chiquinho Brazão hired former military police officer Ronnie Lessa to execute councilor Marielle Franco, in 2018. At the time, her driver, Anderson Gomes, was also killed.

The conclusion is in the final report of the investigation, released after Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), removed the confidentiality of the investigation.

Domingos Brazão, advisor to the Court of Auditors of Rio de Janeiro, and Chiquinho Brazão, federal deputy, were arrested this morning (24), as ordered by Moraes.

For the PF, Marielle’s murder is related to the parliamentarian’s opposition to the interests of the political group led by the Brazão brothers, which is linked to land issues in areas controlled by militias in Rio,

“The evidence of immediate authorship that falls on the brothers Domingos Inácio Brazão and José Francisco Brazão are eloquent. Based on the dynamics narrated by the executor Ronnie Lessa and the elements of conviction gathered during the phase of corroborating his statements, it is clear that the brothers hired two services to carry out the murder of the then councilor Marielle Franco”, said the PF in the report .

In the document, investigators show that the plan to execute Marielle included the participation of Rivaldo Barbosa, former head of the Rio Civil Police. According to the PF, Rivaldo “meticulously planned” the crime.

“The conclusion that Rivaldo Barbosa installed in the homicide division directorate a veritable business desk for negotiations that involved deliberate omission or the directing of investigations to people who were known to be innocent is indisputable. To this end, Rivaldo did business with criminals, militiamen and, as seen in the case at hand, politicians, in the desire to make a profit financially and politically”, say the investigators.

*With information from Agência Brasil

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