Photo caption,
Bolsonaro on the day of the presidential elections in 2022
February 9, 2024
On a analytical text published this Thursday (8/2), the Argentine newspaper news classified the arrest orders and search and seizure warrants carried out by the PF as “the hardest blow to Bolsonarism” to date.
The PF says that the people investigated in the operation, called Tempus Veritatis and authorized by the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Alexandre de Moraes, sought “to maintain the then President of the Republic (Bolsonaro) in power” by planning a coup d’etat.
Among those targeted by the police are the former president himself, who had his passport seized and is unable to make contact with others under investigation, as well as several allies.
Three of them have already been preventively arrested: Filipe Martins, Bolsonaro’s former international affairs advisor; Army Colonel Marcelo Câmara, former special advisor to the Presidency; and Army Major Rafael Martins de Oliveira. There is also an arrest warrant for Army Colonel Bernardo Romão Correa Neto, who is currently abroad.
They were also the target of search and seizure warrants among Bolsonaro’s closest allies: general Augusto Heleno, former head of the Institutional Security Office (GSI); General Walter Braga Netto, former Minister of Defense and Civil House and vice-president on Bolsonaro’s ticket in 2022; Valdemar da Costa Neto, president of the PL, for which Bolsonaro ran for re-election; Anderson Torres, former Minister of Justice; General Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, former Army commander and former Minister of Defense; and Admiral Almir Garnier Santos, former commander-general of the Navy.
Valdemar da Costa Neto was arrested red-handed during the operation for illegal possession of a firearm.
According to the editorial of news, signed by the newspaper’s correspondent in Brasília, Moraes “took an ambitious step to criminally reach the core of Bolsonarism” by authorizing the operation.
“This Thursday’s operation, authorized by the former president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes, an enemy of Bolsonaro, was named by the Federal Police as ‘Tempus Veritatis’ (hour of truth, in Latin), a recognition that the situation of the former president and his allies is increasingly delicate”, says the text.
“With the arrests and the material collected, the ‘moment of truth’ about the alleged coup plot may be closer to being exposed.”
‘Setback for the party’
news also classified Thursday’s events as a “setback for the Liberal Party (PL)” ahead of the municipal elections scheduled for October.
“The police operation was also a setback for the Liberal Party (PL), where the Bolsonaro leaders closest to the former president are gathered, in a year of municipal elections in which the party intends to leverage its number of city halls to prepare the ground for the 2026 presidential elections.”
The PL headquarters was one of the places visited by the PF. According to the G1 portal, the police found an unsigned document at the scene that defended and announced the decree of a state of siege and the guarantee of law and order in the country.
According to news, the police understand that the PL office in Brasília “served as headquarters for the failed coup plot.”
Credit, Reproduction / news
Photo caption,
Text published in news newspaper
Other coverage
In addition to news, outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, in the USA, The Guardian and the Financial Times, in the United Kingdom, and Le Monde, in France, also reported on the operation.
The vast majority opted for factual coverage, highlighting the Federal Police investigations against Bolsonaro and his allies for an alleged coup attempt.
“Bolsonaro is named as a target in coup investigation in Brazil and is instructed to hand over his passport,” says the Washington Post headline.
“Brazilian police accuse Bolsonaro and several retired generals of coup plotting,” says the Spanish newspaper El País.
Qatar’s state broadcaster Al Jazeera, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post and American broadcaster CNN also covered the operation.
BBC News, in English, reported the facts, highlighting that former president Jair Bolsonaro handed over his passport to the authorities.
“Former president of Brazil, Bolsonaro surrenders passport after attempted coup”, says the headline.