Operation Counterattack

The Operation Counterattack (Portuguese: Operação Contragolpe, Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [opeɾɐˈsɐ̃w kotɾaˈɡɔwpi], literally Operation Counter-coup) is an investigation started by the Federal Police of Brazil on 19 November 2024, authorized by the Supreme Federal Court, to investigate crimes related to the 2022 Brazilian coup plot which aimed to prevent the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Geraldo Alckmin, president and vice president-elect of Brazil in 2022. The investigated group, composed by Brazilian Army Special Forces personnel and a federal police officer, would have planned assassinations and kidnappings of authorities, using military and terrorist techniques. The operation was conducted based on a ruling by justice Alexandre de Moraes, who highlighted the "extreme dangerousness" of those involved.

Operation details

The investigation unveiled details that the group planned to monitor and assassinate Moraes, Lula and Alckmin and a fourth person which is rumoured to be former justice minister Flávio Dino, using methods such as poisoning, shooting and explosives. Among the suspects arrested, there were four Army militaries known as "black kids" and a federal police officer. One of the military, brigade general Mario Fernandes, had served as executive-secretary of the secretariat-general of the presidency when the ministry was headed by general Luiz Eduardo Ramos, and he also served as acting secretary during cabinet reshuffles. According to the Supreme Court ruling, the plan envolved the use of official Commands Action Batallion vehicles for monitoring and intelligence acts against the targets.

According to the police, the organization was composed by five operational cores:

1. Virtual attacks against opponents;
2. Delegitimization of institutions such as the Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court;
3. Coup d'etat planning;
4. Opposition to sanitary measures during the COVID-19 pandemic;
5. Misappropriation of public funds.

The Federal Police highlighted that the group began monitoring authorities' activities after a meeting at the residence of former defense minister Walter Braga Netto in November 2022. Aide-de-camp Mauro Cid would have offered R$ 100,000 (US$ 17,000 as of November 2024) to finance the assassination plot.

Among the considered plots was the simultaneous assassinations of Lula and Alckmin to extinguish the winning ticket of the 2022 election. For that, the use of chemical substance to cause organic colapses was considered, taking advantage of Lula's vulnerable health. The group accepted the possibility of death of the perpetrators during the operations, showing willingness to take extreme measures in favor of the coup.

Repercussions

Beyond the broad repercussion in the media and social networks, the case was also reported in international media. Lula supporters highly endorsed the operation, but Bolsonaro allies, including his sons Flávio and Eduardo softened the case, calling it a "smoke screen" and an attempt to attack the reputation of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Both also questioned whether the planning of the crimes could be considered a crime.

International press also reported the indictment of former president Bolsonaro and other 36 for attempting a coup d'etat in Brazil.

Indicted list

The Federal Police indicted 37 people for the crimes of violent abolition of the democratic state of law, coup d'etat and criminal organization:

1. Ailton Gonçalves Moraes Barros, retired Army captain
2. Alexandre Castilho Bitencourt da Silva, Army colonel
3. Alexandre Rodrigues Ramagem, former ABIN director
4. Almir Garnier Santos, former Navy commander
5. Amauri Feres Saad, lawyer
6. Anderson Gustavo Torres, former Justice Minister
7. Anderson Lima de Moura, Army colonel
8. Angelo Martins Denicoli, Army major
9. Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira, former head of the Institutional Security Bureau
10. Bernardo Romão Corrêa Netto, Army colonel
11. Carlos Cesar Moretzsohn Rocha, engineer
12. Carlos Giovani Delevati Pasini, retired Army colonel
13. Cleverson Ney Magalhães, Army colonel
14. Estevam Cals Theóphilo Gaspar de Oliveira, Army general
15. Fabrício Moreira de Barros, Defense attaché in Tel Aviv
16. Filipe Garcia Martins, former special advisor to the Presidency
17. Fernando Cerimedo, Argentinian influencer
18. Giancarlo Gomes Rodrigues, Army sub-lieutenant
19. Guilherme Marques de Almeida, Army lieutenant-colonel
20. Helio Ferreira Lima, Army lieutenant-colonel
21. Jair Messias Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil
22. José Eduado de Oliveira e Silva, priest
23. Laercio Vergílio, retired Army general
24. Marcelo Bormevet, federal police officer
25. Marcelo Costa Câmara, retired Army colonel
26. Mario Fernandes, Army brigade general
27. Mauro Cesar Barbosa Cid, former aide-de-camp
28. Nilton Diniz Rodrigues, Army general
29. Paulo Renato de Oliveira Figueiredo Filho, blogger
30. Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira, former Defense Minister
31. Rafael Martins de Oliveira, Army lieutenant colonel
32. Ronald Ferreira de Araújo Júnior, Army lieutenant colonel
33. Sergio Ricardo Cavaliere de Medeiros, Army lieutenant colonel
34. Tércio Arnaud Tomaz, former special advisor to the Presidency
35. Valdemar Costa Neto, president of the Liberal Party
36. Walter Souza Braga Netto, former Defense Minister
37. Wladimir Matos Soares, federal police officer

See also

• 2022 Brazilian coup plot