By Ricardo Brito
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian police on Tuesday arrested five people, including a member of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s cabinet, suspected of involvement in an alleged plan to kill then-President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2022, days before he took office.
Documents seized by police revealed a plan to shoot or poison Lula and his Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin and put two retired army generals, National Security Adviser Augusto Heleno and former Defense Minister Braga Netto, in charge of leading the country with the idea of holding new elections.
The conspiracy included the attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice with an explosive device or poison, police said in a statement.
The Army confirmed the arrests of retired Brigadier General Mario Fernandes, who had served as a deputy minister in Bolsonaro’s cabinet, and Lieutenant Colonels Helio (WA:) Ferreira Lima, Rodrigo Bezerra de Azevedo and Rafael Martins de Oliveira.
The officers were in Rio de Janeiro but were not involved in the security operation for the summit of leaders of the G20 group of major economies that is ongoing in the city, the Army statement said.
Most of the men under investigation in the alleged 2022 coup plot are military personnel with Special Forces training, or close aides to Bolsonaro, a hard-right former army officer who won the presidency in 2018.
The arrests were the first time the federal police have described a plot to kill Lula and Alckmin, and stage a coup to prevent him returning to power.
Police identified the main plotter as Fernandes, who was found in possession of a plot outline that had been printed at the presidential palace.
“A detailed operational plan called ‘Green and Yellow (OTC:) Dagger’ was identified, which would be executed on December 15, 2022, aimed at the murder of the elected candidates for president and vice president,” the police said in a statement.
Federal police served five arrest warrants on Tuesday, without naming the men arrested, as well as three search and seizure warrants and other 15 precautionary measures.
These included banning suspects from contacting the others and forbidding them from leaving the country.
“Investigations indicate that the criminal organization used a high level of technical-military knowledge to plan, coordinate and execute illicit actions in the months of November and December 2022,” the police statement said.
FEDERAL POLICE PROBE
Lula defeated Bolsonaro in a presidential…
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