Brazil
According to Brazilian Federal Police, Maxwell Simões Corrêa helped plan the 2018 assassination; Two former police officers are already awaiting trial
Monday 24 July 2023 at 6:04pm BST
Brazilian police have arrested a new suspect in connection with the assassination of Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco. This is the first major development in several years in a murder case that shocked Brazil and sparked international outrage.
Franco, an outspoken defender of marginalized communities, was killed in a drive-by shooting along with her driver, Anderson Gomes, in March 2018. Two former police officers accused of the murders were arrested a year later – but they are yet to stand trial and the investigation into who ordered the assassination has been slow since.
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Former firefighter Maxwell Simões Corrêa, known as “Suel”, was arrested Monday at his home in western Rio.
As part of the operation, named “Elpis” after the spirit of hope in Greek mythology, federal police also executed seven search and seizure warrants at addresses around Rio.
Simões Corrêa was already under house arrest for obstructing justice, but new evidence pointing to his deeper involvement in the killings led to officers arresting him, federal police chief Andrei Rodrigues told reporters.
According to investigators, Simões Corrêa provided logistical support to Ronnie Lessa and Élcio Vieira de Queiroz, the former police officers accused of firing the shots and driving the car used in the killings.
The new suspect is said to have helped plan Franco’s murder and provided and disposed of the vehicle used for the crime. He has also supported Queiroz’s family financially since the ex-cop was behind bars, prosecutor Eduardo Morais Martins said at a press conference in Rio.
Monday’s operation was conducted by federal police, which launched their own February investigation into Franco’s murder and his motives in support of a parallel state-led probe riddled with criticism of inefficiency.
This led to new evidence and an agreement with Queiroz, Justice Minister Flávio Dino said at the press conference in Brasília. In addition to admitting his role as the driver in the murders, Queiroz also credited Lessa as the man who pulled the trigger and revealed new details that led to the arrest of Simões Corrêa.
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Unanswered questions surrounding the execution of the crime have been resolved and “an important phase of the investigation has been completed,” Dino said, adding that the focus will now shift to finding out who ordered the killings. The minister confirmed speculation that paramilitary gangs known as militias – mafia organizations that control large parts of Rio state and are often made up of current or former state police officers – are involved in the crime.
“I want to reassure the victims’ families and civil society that the investigation will move forward and lead to new findings,” Dino said, adding that the recent developments are a sign of “the government’s commitment to solving all crimes and fighting impunity.”
When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government took office in January, Dino pledged to investigate Franco’s murder as “a matter of honor,” in contrast to Jair Bolsonaro’s previous government, which was heavily criticized for its lack of commitment to solving the case.
Franco’s sister Anielle, the current Minister for Racial Equality, welcomed the news of the arrest. “I reaffirm my trust in the federal police, who are leading the investigation, and I repeat the question I have been asking for the past five years: who ordered the assassination of Marielle and why?” Anielle Franco wrote on twitter.
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