Three men accused of plotting the murder of prominent leftist politician Marielle Franco in Brazil were arrested Sunday.
All three suspects held powerful positions in Rio de Janeiro. Chiquinho Brazão is currently a congressman representing the area, his brother Domingos Brazão is a state auditor and Rivaldo Barbosa was Rio’s police chief at the time of the crime.
Franco was a rising star in Brazilian politics in 2018, serving at the time as a Rio city councilwoman. Her presence alone as a 38-year-old openly bisexual Black woman flustered some conservatives in Brazil and she gained recognition and adoration by fighting for poor people and against criminal groups known as militias.
AP Photo/Ellis Rua
Rio de Janeiro Councilwoman Marielle Franco smiles for a photo in January 2018. (AP Photo/Ellis Rua)
On March 14, 2018, Franco was leaving an event with young Black women when another car pulled alongside hers. A gunman unleashed a hail of bullets into her vehicle, killing her and her driver, Anderson Gomes.
About one year after the assassination, the killers were arrested. Ex-cop Ronnie Lessa was identified as the triggerman, while Elcio de Queiroz admitted to driving the car.
“The murderer of Marielle is not only the person who pulled the trigger,” her political ally Marcelo Freixo tweeted after the arrests. “It’s the one who planned and hired somebody to kill her. This is a politically motivated crime, and we demand to know which political group can eliminate a councilwoman.”
According to police, Lessa finally agreed to a plea deal on Wednesday and identified the men who did the hiring. Cops arrested the Brazão brothers and Barbosa in a surprise operation Sunday morning. The siblings have been accused of working with the criminal militias that control an estimated 50% of Rio and that Franco was fighting against.
With News Wire Services
