‘My daughter trusted him’, says Marielle Franco’s mother about Rivaldo Barbosa’s arrest | Rio de Janeiro

Rio – “The biggest surprise in all of this is Rivaldo’s name, as my daughter trusted him and his work.” In an interview with ‘Globonews’, on TV Globo, Marielle Franco’s mother, Marinete da Silva, said that the police officer’s arrest Rivaldo Barbosa, accused of receiving bribes to try to obstruct the investigations into the murder of the councilor and driver Anderson Gomes, was a “surprise”. This Sunday (24), in addition to the former head of the Civil Police, the Federal Police arrested Domingos Brazãocurrent advisor to the State Court of Auditors, and Chiquinho Brazão (União Brasil), federal deputy from Rio, accused of being the masterminds of the crime.

Marinete da Silva also said that delegate Barbosa, at the time of the councilor’s murder, assured her that he would solve the crime. “A Sunday to do justice. The biggest surprise in all of this is Rivaldo’s name. He said it was a matter of honor to clarify the case”, said Marinete.

The Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, also commented on the arrests. “We have a feeling of victory, but it’s not over yet. For us, having a surprise with Rivaldo’s name, it comes like an extra time, when there is still a game, the referee didn’t blow the whistle and we have to wait”, said Marielle’s sister , on the program ‘Conexão Globonews’.

On social media, the former deputy and current president of the Brazilian Agency for the International Promotion of Tourism (Embratur), Marcelo Freixo (PT), stated that he spoke with Barbosa when he found out about the murder. “It was Rivaldo Barbosa that I called when I found out about the murder of Marielle and Anderson. He was head of the Civil Police and received the families the next day, along with me. Now, Rivaldo is in prison for having acted to protect those who ordered the crime, preventing them from investigations progress”, wrote Freixo.

This Sunday, the Federal Police’s Murder Inc. operation targets the intellectual authors of the crime of homicide. In addition to the three preventive arrest warrants, the agents also carried out 12 search and seizure warrants in Rio de Janeiro, issued by the Federal Supreme Court (STF).

Remember the case

Imprisoned since 2019, former military police officer Ronnie Lessa, author of the shots that killed councilwoman Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes, on March 14, 2018, cited the name of federal deputy Chiquinho Brazão and his brother, Domingos Brazão, in his plea bargain, approved this Tuesday (19), by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF.

One of the main lines of investigation into the case is related to a dispute over land in the West Zone. In testimony, Lessa reported that Marielle became a target after defending the occupation of land by low-income people and that the process was monitored by bodies, such as the Institute of Land and Cartography of the State of Rio and the Land and Housing Center, of the Public Defender’s Office of Rio.

According to investigations, the person responsible for the crime that ended the lives of Marielle and Anderson was seeking the regularization of a condominium in Jacarepaguá without considering the criteria of an area of ​​social interest. The objective would be to transform the property into real estate speculation.

Six years after the death of councilor Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes, investigations into the case are ongoing to discover the mastermind and motivation for the murders. At the beginning of the month, the Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ), through the Task Force of the Specialized Action Group to Combat Organized Crime for the Marielle Franco and Anderson Gomes case (Gaeco/FTMA), asked the Justice that former firefighter Maxwell Simões Corrêa, known as Suel, be tried by a popular jury.

Investigators point out that Suel participated in the murder plan and monitored the councilwoman’s routine, in addition to helping former military police officers Ronnie Lessa and Élcio Queiroz, shooter and driver respectively, in dismantling the car used in the ambush and the disappearance of the capsules from ammunition. Lessa and Queiroz will also go to the popular jury.