People holding banners and posters demanding justice for Marielle Franco and asking who is behind her assassination, in front of a mural photo of the Brazilian LGBTQ activist and politician. Photo: Scuzinska/Alamy Stock Photo/File photo.
The Federal Police of Brazil reported that they arrested three suspected masterminds of the murder of Councilor and LGBTQ+ activist Marielle Franco, which occurred on March 14, 2018.
The federal deputy Chiquinho Brazão, the counselor of the Court of Auditors of Rio, Domingos Brazão, and former head of the Civil Police, Rivaldo Barbosa, were arrested this Sunday, March 24.
#Urgente | La Polícia Federal acaba de detener a 3 denunciados como mandantes del asesinato de la concejala Marielle Franco.
El diputado federal Chiquinho Brazão, el consejero del Tribunal de Cuentas de Río, Domingos Brazão y el exjefe de la Policía Civil, Rivaldo Barbosa,… pic.twitter.com/SnTYEs4kIw
— André Vieira (@AndreteleSUR) March 24, 2024
The arrests were made days after the Supreme Court confirmed the award-winning collaboration of Ronnie Lessa, accused of being the perpetrator of the crime.
Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes were murdered on March 14, 2018, in Rio de Janeiro. Investigations indicate that the crime was political and could be related to Franco’s fight against paramilitary groups and police corruption.
The family of councilor Marielle Franco considered that “justice is coming,” after the arrest this Sunday of three suspects of having ordered the crime, despite many in Brazil linking the assassination directly to former president Jair Bolsonaro.
“We are closer to justice, and justice is coming,” said Anielle Franco, sister of the murdered councilor and current Minister of Racial Equality in the progressive government chaired by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The detention was ordered by the Supreme Court, which has been supervising the investigation since mid-2023 when it was transferred to the federal level after spending five years being paralyzed in the Rio de Janeiro justice system.
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“It is a great step to get to the answers to the questions we have been asking ourselves for six years: Who ordered Mari to be killed and why,” said the minister and sister of the murdered activist.
Franco’s widow, Mónica Benicio, who currently serves as a councilor in Rio de Janeiro for the PSOL, told reporters that the arrest of the three suspects seems aimed at “proving the thesis that the militias act as the armed wing of a part of the political system.”
The arrest warrants have been based on a judicial cooperation agreement with one of those accused of murdering Marielle Franco, in prison for four years.
This is Ronnie Lessa, a former Rio de Janeiro police officer and member of those mafia gangs known as “militias,” which operate in Rio de Janeiro, controlling many of the illegal businesses in the favelas and even supplying hired gunmen.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/DZ
