Former Army commander links coup plotter from Torres’ house to Bolsonaro – 03/14/2024 – Power

Former Army Commander Marco Antônio Freire Gomes told the Federal Police that the draft found at the home of former Justice Minister Anderson Torres is the same version that was presented by former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to the heads of the Armed Forces in meeting in December 2022.

In the testimony, obtained by Sheetthe general stated that the document was presented by Bolsonaro in a second meeting between military leaders and the then President of the Republic.

“Which confirms that the content of the draft decree presented was exposed to the declarant in the aforementioned meetings. Which highlights that it was made clear to Bolsonaro and the Minister of Defense [general Paulo Sérgio Nogueira] that the Army would not accept any act of institutional rupture”, said the general, according to the statement.

This is the first time that the text found with Anderson Torres is linked to the coup plot that unfolded at the end of the Bolsonaro government.

According to Freire Gomes, the text was presented to the commanders of the Armed Forces on two occasions. The first time meeting with Bolsonaro at Palácio da Alvorada; the second, in a meeting called by minister Paulo Sérgio at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, on December 14, 2022.

The former Army chief also said that Anderson Torres participated in meetings in which the coup d’état was plotted. According to the statement, the former minister explained the “legal support for the measures that could be adopted”.

The defenders of the coup measures, according to Freire Gomes, used “interpretations by jurist Ives Gandra of the use of the Armed Forces as a Moderating Power, based on article 142”.

Freire Gomes’ statement to the Federal Police took place on April 1st and lasted around 7 hours. He spoke to investigators as a witness.

The general was in Spain, visiting his family, when he received information that he would be summoned to give his statement. According to officials interviewed by SheetFreire Gomes anticipated returning to Brazil to speak to the Federal Police.

In his testimony, the former Army commander confirmed that he received messages from Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s aide-de-camp, to follow the evolution of coup discussions at the Palácio da Alvorada.

“That he acknowledges that he received the audios identified in the investigation. That the audios sought to portray the visits received by the then president and his state of mind in relation to the measures that were being discussed”, says an excerpt from the statement.

Freire Gomes also said that he learned from Cid that the retired general and former minister Eduardo Pazuello had met with Bolsonaro after the elections to give coup suggestions.

The message sent by Cid to the former commander is described in the PF report that supported the Tempus Veritatis operation, which targeted Bolsonaro, former ministers and military personnel. In the audio, the lieutenant colonel says that Pazuello met with the former president to “give suggestions and ideas on how he could, in some way, affect art. 142.”

The general told the PF that Pazuello was already in reserve and elected federal deputy. “He understood that it would be a political issue with no possibility of directly influencing the Armed Forces”, added Freire Gomes, according to the statement.

Freire Gomes also told investigators that he “always reminded Cid that he had to adopt an institutional stance.”

Such as Sheet showed, Freire Gomes was one of the generals who even suggested to Mauro Cid that he leave Bolsonaro’s orderly assistance before the electoral process, to reduce his exposure.

The lieutenant colonel, however, said that he would not feel comfortable abandoning Bolsonaro during the election period, out of loyalty to the then president, as his departure could disrupt the PL candidate’s routine.