Brazil’s federal police arrested five people for an alleged conspiracy to assassinate President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022, authorities said.
A Brazilian Federal Police operation dubbed “Operation Counterstrike” was launched on Tuesday (19) with the aim of dismantling the criminal organization allegedly responsible for planning a coup d’état intended to prevent President Lula from taking office after the 2022 elections. The conspiracy included the assassination of the president and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, according to the plan.
“A detailed operational plan, named ‘Green and Yellow Dagger’, was discovered, to be executed on December 15, 2022. The goal was to assassinate the elected presidential and vice-presidential candidates,” the police reported.
The criminals also planned to restrict the free exercise of the judiciary. “There were also plans to arrest and execute a Supreme Court judge who was being continuously monitored, should the coup be carried out,” the police said.
The plan included the eventual creation of an “Institutional Crisis Management Office” in the Brazilian government that the coup plotters would control, according to the police.
Former president accused of participating in the alleged conspiracy
According to a police warrant executed on Tuesday, signed by Supreme Federal Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, Bolsonaro allegedly met with Army and Navy officials, as well as the Minister of Defense, in December 2022, to present a document detailing how he would remain in power.
The former president has repeatedly denied the allegations of attempted coup. His son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, suggested in a post on X that the five suspects did not commit a crime.
“As repugnant as it is to think about killing someone, it is not a crime. And for there to be an attempt, the execution must be interrupted by some situation beyond the control of the perpetrators. Which does not seem to have happened,” he wrote.
Sources: Agência Brasil and CNN