On Tuesday 26 January, reserve general Augusto Heleno, former head of the Bolsonaro government’s Institutional Security Office (GSI), will issue a statement to the CPMI in which he investigates the anti-democratic demonstrations that culminated in the attack on the buildings of Três Poderes, in Brasilia, in the second week of the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
Heleno, an ally of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), is not the target of any of the investigations involving the former president and will be heard as a witness. To the Estadaoconfirmed that he will appear before the commission.
In the request to the CPMI to hear the general’s testimony, the rapporteur Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA) considered that, “due to his position as then minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet”, Heleno could provide “information of enormous value for the conduct of our future work in this commission.”
Senator Ana Paula Lobato (PSB-MA), in turn, underlined in the request that it is “necessary for the deponent to clarify, among other things, his direct or indirect involvement in facts that have a causal link in an attempt to coup d’état occurred on January 8, 2023”.
Heleno was heard by the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on the anti-democratic acts of the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District in June and remained loyal to Bolsonaro, as he himself stated. The former GSI claimed that he was not a coup plotter and repeatedly replied “I don’t remember” when questioned by deputies from opposition parties.
Heleno was head of the GSI during an alleged coup meeting with the Armed Forces
According to rumors about Mauro Cid’s plea deal, former president Jair Bolsonaro met with the leaders of the Armed Forces to discuss the possibility of military intervention to cancel the result of the 2022 elections, when Lula would have been chosen as president. Heleno was head of the GSI and a close ally of Bolsonaro at the time and his testimony was expected shortly after the revelation. CPMI parliamentarians will have to investigate his possible involvement at that time.
Heleno’s GSI has received scammers
In a request for a subpoena from the former head of the GSI, deputies Rubens Pereira Júnior (PT-MA) and Rogério Correia (PT-MG) recall a report from the Agência Pública portal which reveals that “between November 1st and December 31st 2022, the GSI, then led by General Augusto Heleno, welcomed several people involved in the events, including “one of the coup plotters arrested red-handed after the invasion of the headquarters of the Three Powers”.
The general was part of a WhatsApp group with scammers
In an interview with the UOL portal, retired aviator Colonel Francisco Dellamora said that Heleno participated in a WhatsApp group involving active and reserve military personnel, with discussions about possible coup actions. The group existed until January 8, the day of the attacks on the headquarters of the Three Powers, and was attended by retired general Sérgio Etchegoyen, who was head of the GSI during the Michel Temer (MDB) government.
The Bolsonarists burned the buses during Lula’s graduation ceremony
General Heleno was still head of the GSI when the Bolsonarists attempted to invade the Federal Police and burned the buses on the night of December 12, the day of President Lula’s graduation. There were no arrests resulting from the proceedings. The Public Security Secretariat of the Federal District even stated that “no arrests have been found related to the civil unrest that occurred.”
“The bandit goes up the ramp?”
In a video released by the website Metrópoles in December last year, a protester asked Heleno if “criminals go up the ramp”, referring to President Lula, who would take office in a few weeks. The general replied “no”.
At the CPI on anti-democratic actions in the Federal District, Heleno was questioned on the topic, but he denied that he was referring to the PT member and said he still thinks that thieves don’t go up the ramp.
Heleno’s generals remained in Lula’s GSI
Generals Carlos José Russo Assumpção Penteado and Carlos Feitosa Rodrigues, who were part of Heleno’s management at the GSI, remained in the organization in the early days of the Lula government, including during the events of January 8. They were only acquitted on January 23 and in April they were called to testify as part of the Lesa Pátria operation, which investigates the alleged connivance and participation of members of the Armed Forces in the invasion of the headquarters of the Three Powers.
Heleno can help clarify the behavior of his subordinates in the documents and whether there was any kind of collusion on their part.
Unfavorable context for the military
In June, in testimony to the ICC about anti-democratic acts in the Federal District, General Heleno said that the coup camps were “healthy places” and downplayed the events. “I think the treatment they are giving to the word coup is not appropriate. A coup, to be successful, needs to have leaders, a main leader, it is not a simple attitude. This term coup is used with extreme vulgarity. “A manifestation of dissatisfaction cannot be called a coup,” he said.
But the context today is less favorable to the former head of the GSI than three months ago. His testimony comes in the context of numerous setbacks that have hit the military in recent weeks, such as the operation of the Federal Police which cited General Braga Netto in an investigation into alleged misappropriation of public funds during the federal intervention in Rio de Janeiro.
The testimony also comes after the leak of excerpts from the plea agreement of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp. According to information that has already appeared in the press, the CID even claimed to have given the former president the cash from the illegal sale of the presidential jewels. He also said that Bolsonaro consulted the leaders of the Armed Forces on the possibility of carrying out a coup after Lula’s victory.
As shown by Estadão Column, Heleno turned on “I know nothing” mode regarding Cid’s complaint. The retired general told interlocutors that he does not intend to comment on alleged information according to which he is mentioned in collaboration with the former aide-de-camp.
Source: Terra
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