Intervention ends with renewed Security Summit in the DF – 01/31/2023 – Power

The intervention in public security in the Federal District ends this Tuesday (31) with the renewed leadership of the capital’s forces and with the challenge of moving forward with the proposal to create a national guard responsible for protecting the Esplanada dos Ministérios.

Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Ricardo Cappelli has been in charge of Security in the Federal District since late afternoon on January 8th. He stayed on the job for 24 days.

He was chosen by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to respond to the errors and omissions committed by the Government of the Federal District in the attacks on the headquarters of the Three Powers by vandals supporting former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

During the period of the intervention, a series of changes were made at the tops of the Secretariat of Public Security and the Military Police of the DF, with the arrest of the heads of both areas.

Anderson Torres was the first to be dismissed, still by Governor Ibaneis Rocha (MDB), who ended up being removed by decision of the STF (Federal Supreme Court). Torres was eventually arrested by the Federal Police on January 14.

With the departure of Torres, Cappelli decided to exonerate the former secretary’s two closest assistants: Marília Ferreira (Undersecretary for Intelligence) and Fernando de Sousa Oliveira (Executive Secretary).

In their place, the interventor appointed Milton Rodrigues Neves and George Estefani do Couto —who had been dismissed by Torres — back to their positions. The two participated in the preparation of security plans for Lula’s inauguration.

In his final report, Cappelli stated that the dismissals carried out by Torres affected the “operational activities carried out” by the secretariat on the eve of the attack on the headquarters of the Powers.

With the end of the intervention, the acting governor of the Federal District, Celina Leão (PP), decided to nominate the delegate of the Federal Police Sandro Avelar to head Public Security in the DF.

Avelar has a history of relations with the PT, having held the same position during the government of Agnelo Queiroz (PT), between 2011 and 2014. According to the governor’s interlocutors, the delegate’s name was presented to the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, before the appointment is confirmed.

The command of the Military Police was also changed during the intervention period. Former PM chief Fábio Augusto Vieira was arrested by the PF and five assistants were dismissed — among them Colonel Jorge Eduardo Naime Barreto, head of the Department of Operations, who was on vacation during the attacks.

Colonel Klepter Rosa assumed command of the PM after Cappelli’s indication.

As a result of the January 8 attacks, Minister Flávio Dino decided to present Lula with a draft of a PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) for the creation of a national guard responsible for protecting the Esplanada dos Ministérios.

It would be a federal body, linked to the Ministry of Justice, also responsible for the security of Praça dos Três Poderes.

The government’s justification is that the Federal District has several federal government buildings, which should be protected by the Union itself instead of having their integrity protected by the teams of the governor of the capital.

The creation of the national guard faces resistance among DF politicians. After meeting with Lula last week, Acting Governor Celina Leão stated that the new body is unnecessary.

“What was really missing on the 8th was a command. The Military Police were never absent from all the demonstrations they had here. So, we do not agree with the creation of this guard […] I think that a reinforcement of the battalion, which we have already provided, and the construction of the new battalion will definitively solve this problem”, he said.

During the intervention period, Cappelli even mobilized hundreds of police, firefighters, helicopters, drones and closed the Esplanada dos Ministérios for a demonstration called by Bolsonaristas that was joined by only three people.

He also promoted an event, with Flávio Dino, to honor the security professionals involved in the “Operation to Guarantee Democracy and Preservation of the Rule of Law”.

In his latest work, Ricardo Cappelli concluded in the final report of the intervention that the Military Police of the DF did not draw up an operational plan for January 8, even with various intelligence information that pointed to the risk of invasion and depredation of public buildings.

In the document, the intervenor lists facts that occurred between January 6 and 9 that, according to him, would have contributed to the attacks.

The intelligence of the Secretariat of Public Security of the DF delivered a report on the risks of the demonstration to Anderson Torres on January 6, as shown by the Sheet.

“It can be concluded that there was no lack of information and warnings about the risks of the demonstration”, says the intervenor’s report.

According to Cappelli, there were a series of failures in the preparation of the Military Police of the DF that facilitated the invasion of the vandals. In the internal documents, for example, there was no provision for activating battalions specialized in containing civil disturbances, such as BOPE, BPCÃES, BAVOP AND RPMON.

“It is important to highlight the existence of information that a portion of the troops allocated to reinforce the troops that were on the Esplanade were on standby at home.”

According to the intervenor, the former commander of the PM Fábio Augusto Vieira acted directly during the acts of January 8, making calls and requesting reinforcement in policing.

“Although he was personally operating in the field, evidence indicates that the colonel lost the ability to lead his direct subordinates, as his requests for reinforcement were neither promptly considered nor responded to,” the report says.

Ricardo Cappelli also points out that the camp set up by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in front of the Army HQ, in Brasília, served as “logistical support and a place of concentration” for protesters for the actions of January 8.