Brazil political crisis: Police forces under investigation for Jan 8 coup events

Sandro Avelar

BRASILIA, Feb 4 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — The Secretary of Public Security of the Federal District (DF), Sandro Avelar, affirmed that the police forces deployed to contain the coup attempt last January 8th are being investigated to determine failures and possible omissions.    

“In 2013, there were several episodes with protesters in a much higher number than on January 8th, and the Military Police (PM) behaved very well, and nothing more serious happened on those occasions,” Avelar said during an interview.

On that date, with calls for military intervention and rejection of the assumption to power by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, extremist groups supporting ex-president Jair Bolsonaro invaded and ransacked the headquarters of the National Congress, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the Presidency.

The secretary said that it is “necessary to verify if the indispensable means, units with competence to deal with this type of demonstration were used, which apparently did not happen on January 8th, giving rise to these unfortunate events, which are the subject of investigation.”

Due to the recovery of institutionality after the quick reaction of the Government and especially of Lula, who ordered the federal intervention of Public Security in the DF, the situation came under control in over four hours.

The President recently stated that there was a failure of the government’s intelligence services that did not warn about the coup attempts.