Who is Marcinho VP, Oruam’s father displayed on a t-shirt by the rapper during a show at Lollapalooza

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Rapper Oruam caught the attention of the public at the Lollapalooza festival, in São Paulo, this Sunday (24), when he performed on stage wearing a t-shirt with the photo of his father, drug boss Marcinho VP, and a request for “freedom”. “Just a cry from a son missing his father,” wrote the musician on his social media. The drug trafficker has been imprisoned for almost 30 years — the last 14 in the Federal Penitentiary of Catanduvas (PR).

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The rapper had already worn a similar t-shirt during the controversial celebration of his birthday, in March, when he called for a “little ride” with dozens of motorcyclists and fireworks, and which passed through several areas of the city during the night of the 1st of that month .

Since when has Marcinho VP been in prison?

Oruam is 23 years old. Therefore, since he was born, he has never interacted with his father outside the prison gates. Marcinho VP has been in prison since 1996, when he was just 20 years old. Despite having spent more time inside bars than outside them, this did not prevent him, despite being incarcerated, from becoming, alongside Fernandinho Beira-Mar, one of the main leaders of the largest faction in the state, Comando Vermelho.

Oruam vented after repercussions about his father’s photo — Photo: Reproduction

Who is Marcinho VP, Oruam’s father?

Born in Vigário Geral, Marcinho VP moved as a baby to São João de Meriti, in Baixada Fluminense. His father was murdered shortly after, and his mother was arrested four times, meaning that he and three brothers ended up being raised by an aunt.

In a memoir written in prison, the criminal says that he started stealing at the age of 13, “to buy branded clothes.” The rise came quickly, and he soon became the “owner” of Complexo do Alemão, a group of favelas in the North Zone of the capital and one of the most important drug interposts in Rio.

Marcinho VP — Photo: Agência O Globo

In the same book, he reveals that the proximity to important characters in Rio de Janeiro politics has been going on for a long time. In 1996, shortly before being arrested, Marcinho VP, already head of Alemão, would have helped the future governor and then mayoral candidate Sérgio Cabral to campaign in the community. At the time of the work’s publication, in 2017, Cabral denied having negotiated with the drug dealer.

Why was Marcinho VP arrested?

Márcio’s convictions for drug trafficking and homicide total 44 years in prison. One of the crimes credited to him is the death of his partner Márcio Amaro de Oliveira, curiously also known as Marcinho VP. Amaro was found strangled in a trash can in the Bangu 3 prison. The execution was reportedly motivated by interviews given by the criminal revealing details of how drug trafficking operated in Rio.

Rapper Oruam during show at Lollapalooza: photo of his father, drug dealer Marcinho VP — Photo: Reproduction / Instagram