Brazilian police arrest suspected masterminds behind the killing of councilwoman-turned-icon

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil's federal police arrested on Sunday the men suspected of ordering the killing of a Rio de Janeiro councilwoman in 2018, a long-awaited step after years of society clamouring for justice.

The brutal assassination of Marielle Franco, a 38-year-old Black, bisexual Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman in a drive-by shooting, shook Brazil profoundly and reverberated across the world.

Two federal police sources with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press that congressman Chiquinho Brazão and his brother Domingos Brazão, a member of Rio state's accounts watchdog, were detained on suspicion of ordering the hit against Franco.

Both have alleged connections to criminal groups, known as militias, who illegally charge residents for various services, including protection.

The sources didn't make clear what their suspected motive was.

On Wednesday, Brazil's Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said the country's Supreme Court had validated a plea bargain for the shooter who was arrested along with the driver in 2019.

The investigation into Franco's murder had been troubled for years. Rio's state civil police couldn't break the case after the arrest and indictment of the shooter and the driver. The lead detectives were changed four times until February 2023, when federal authorities took control.

The driver admitted to the double murder of Franco and her driver in 2023. The shooter, disgraced former police officer Ronnie Lessa, signed a plea bargain deal with authorities in January and his admission led to Sunday's arrests.

Rivaldo Barbosa, the head of Rio's police when the murder took place, was also arrested for alleged obstruction of the investigation, the sources said.

Franco, the councilwoman, worked as an assistant to then-state lawmaker Marcelo Freixo in 2008, as he presided over a special committee investigating militias in Rio's state assembly. Freixo's final report indicted 226 suspected militia members and politicians and government employees, including Domingos Brazão. While Brazão was mentioned in the report, he wasn't indicted.

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