Lula fires Brazilian Intelligence Agency's No. 2 over alleged espionage

This Tuesday, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued a dismissal order for the Deputy Director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN), Alessandro Moretti, in the midst of an investigation into alleged illegal espionage, involving a son of the former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).

The president's decision occurred in the context of the investigation of Moretti, being carried out by the Brazilian Federal Police. The former deputy director is accused of forming part of an alleged criminal organization that was set up within ABIN during Bolsonaro's government with the purpose of spying on politicians and public figures.

President Lula da Silva had already expressed his intention to dismiss Moretti if his involvement in the events was proven. “If that is true, and that is being proven, there is no climate for that citizen to continue in the Police,” he expressed in a recent radio interview.

The investigation against Bolsonaro's son

Carlos Bolsonaro, son of the former president and a current legislator in Rio de Janeiro, is also being investigated by the authorities on suspicion that he is "the political core of the criminal organization" that was supposedly formed within ABIN to favor Bolsonaro. The Federal Police searched his house last Monday.

Bolsonaro denies spy network

The former president of Brazil has already denied on several occasions that illegal espionage was carried out during his government. “I never sought to collect information about anyone to defend myself. I never received information, geographic location from anyone. I never needed, asked for or received reports from Abin,” he stated.

It should be noted that since last year, the former president has become the target of numerous investigations ranging from embezzlement to allegedly participating in the assault on federal buildings.

Bolsonaro, disqualified until 2030

In the middle of last year, the country's Superior Electoral Court politically disqualified Bolsonaro until 2030, considering that the former president abused his authority by using the government's communication channels to promote his electoral campaign and sow doubts about the legality of the elections that had been held.