Suspicion for the recent failed attempt to blow up a fuel truck in Brasilia with the aim of frustrating the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, scheduled for January 1, admitted that he wanted to “create chaos” so that a state of siege was declared in the country and thus prevent the seizure of power by the president-elect.
Police deactivated an explosive device placed on a fuel tanker on Saturday before the vehicle reached the airport of the capital of Brazil, where the defendant intended to detonate it. On the same day, the authorities confiscated several weapons and ammunition from the home of the alleged perpetrator of the threats.
Another 40 kilos of explosives were discovered in one of Brasilia’s satellite cities on Sunday night, but authorities have not established whether the cases are connected.
The 54-year-old man, detained since Saturday and identified as George Washington de Oliveira Sousa, admitted that he planned the attacks with other “bolsonarists” who camped in front of the army headquarters in the country’s capital to ask the military for a coup d’état to prevent the investiture of Lula.
According to statements reproduced by CNN, the suspect admitted to it tried to “prevent the establishment of communism” in the country.
Civilian police reported that Oliveira was transferred to a maximum security prisonafter he was questioned and confessed to his attendance at the event, which he was for formally accused of terrorismaccording to the Sputnik news agency.
According to the suspect’s version, he also planned to install explosives on poles near an electrical substation in Taguatinga, a city in the Federal District.
“An unknown woman suggested to the protesters in the barracks that they plant a bomb in the Taguatinga electrical substation to cause a power outage and trigger the chaos that would lead to the declaration of a state of siege,” she confessed.
He also said he works as manager at a gas station within the state of Pará and who, since October of last year, when he obtained the license to carry firearms, has purchased pistols, revolvers, rifles, carbines and ammunition.
The terrorist attack adds pressure to Lula’s inauguration ceremony, which is expected to be attended by almost twenty heads of state, as well as hundreds of thousands of leftist sympathizers.
Looking for another suspect
Brazilian police were looking for a second suspect today. This is Alan Diego Rodrigues, 32, who would have been the in charge of carrying the explosives to the truckaccording to the confession of George Washington de Oliveira Sousa, according to the Correio Braziliense newspaper.
Oliveira revealed that a woman was initially assigned to carry the bomb, but she regretted it and Rodrigues offered to carry out the task.
Rodrigues left the bomb next to a truck loaded with 63,000 liters of aviation gasoline and the intention was to detonate it next to a light pole. If it had exploded, it would have caused the suspension of power distribution throughout the capital.
The measures that Lula will take against the coup groups
Lula da Silva will announce on his first day in office measures to neutralize groups unaware of his electoral victory and who are defending a coup, his future justice minister, Flávio Dino, said.
“We will anticipate some measures, also because there can be no power vacuum. Already in the early hours of the 1st we will adopt Measures to avoid an unstable situation“, Dino said in an interview with the GloboNews television channel, referring to the threats posed by the coup groups.
The future minister also said that the first steps to neutralize these groups will be taken by institutions linked to his portfolio, including the Federal Police.
“We will take the necessary measures so that in the early hours of January 1 we already have effective control,” he assured.
He added that he hoped that the same armed forces would dismantle the camps of Bolsonaro groups installed in front of the barracks this week because they are demonstrators defending a coup, which constitutes a crime.
Dino also said that the measures to ensure security during the inauguration will be increased and that all the events scheduled for that day will be reviewed so as not to favor the action of terrorists.
With information from Télam and EFE.
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Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.