The lawyer for Lieutenant Colonel Rodrigo Bezerra Azevedo, one of the members of the “black kids” group – also known as special forces – said, this Friday (29), that the soldier was “the victim of a frame-up”, in the case that investigates the alleged attempted coup d’état after the 2022 elections.
Rodrigo Bezerra Azevedo was arrested, on the 19th, by Operation Contragolpe, accused of participating in the plan against president Lula (PT), vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) and the then president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), the minister Alexandre de Moraes. The soldier is detained in the 1st Army Police Battalion, in Rio de Janeiro. Four other soldiers, from the special forces, were also targets of the action.
Azevedo’s defender, Jeffrey Chiquini, said that the lieutenant colonel was unaware of any coup agreement and received a cell phone as a “Trojan horse”. “They planted evidence on specific targets for this attribution to specific people”, says Chiquini.
It is possible that Azevedo is the 38th person indicted in the report delivered to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), which, to date, has 37 names. The PF must send the updated document to the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
“Black Kids”
Lieutenant Colonel Rodrigo Bezerra Azevedo is one of five soldiers from the Army’s special forces, targets of the Operation, also known as “black kids”. They are: reserve general Mario Fernandes, lieutenant colonel Helio Ferreira Lima, major Rodrigo Bezerra Azevedo and major Rafael Martins de Oliveira. Federal police officer Wladimir Matos Soares was also detained.
The investigation identified that the military was mainly concentrated near the Meliá Hotel, where Lula stayed during the transition period.
“The investigations indicate that the criminal organization used a high level of technical-military knowledge to plan, coordinate and execute illicit actions in the months of November and December 2022. Those investigated are, for the most part, military personnel with training in Special Forces ( FE)”, said the PF in a note.
Report
According to the PF report, Azevedo was the user of a cell phone used in Brasília, and, in the messages exchanged, he was identified by the code name “Brazil”.
The document details that the same phone was activated on December 29th, with another line number, this time in the name of Azevedo himself.
Lawyer Jeffrey Chiquini denies that the soldier is the person behind the codename “Brazil” and says he has proof that on the 15th, Azevedo’s birthday, he was at home, with his family, in Goiânia.
According to Chiquini, the device only came into the military’s hands on December 24, when it was placed at the disposal of the lieutenant colonel, who took up a position at the Army’s Special Operations Coordination Center.
With information from Agência Brasil
