BRASILIA, Dec 15 (NNN-XINHUA) — Brazilian police on Saturday arrested former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto in a probe into a coup plot.
According to media reports, he will be handed over to the Eastern Military Command and will remain under the custody of the army.
Braga Netto, a retired army general, served as defense minister during former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration. Braga Netto was Bolsonaro’s running mate in the 2022 Brazilian presidential election, in which Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defeated then-President Bolsonaro.
In January 2023, a large group of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil’s national government institutions, clashing with police and military forces.
Last month, Brazil’s Supreme Court made public an investigation report accusing Bolsonaro, Braga Netto, and more than 30 others of plotting a coup, participating in a criminal organization, and other related offenses. — NNN-XINHUA
