(Bloomberg) -- Brazil police arrested the alleged masterminds of the 2018 assassination of Marielle Franco, a Rio de Janeiro councilwoman whose violent death shocked Brazilians, later becoming a symbol of the fight against impunity across the nation.
The case led to the arrest of a member of Rio de Janeiro’s audit court, his brother who is a federal lawmaker and a former head of Rio’s civil police, Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said on Sunday, declaring the investigation closed.
Franco, a Black, LGBTQ, human rights activist from one of Rio de Janeiro’s poorest communities, was 38 years old when a car pulled alongside hers and opened fire, killing the councilwoman and her driver. National outrage over her death did little to hasten the investigation, which looked poised to fail even after authorities arrested a former policeman who carried out the murder and who later made a plea bargain to identify those who had hired him.
“Who killed Marielle?” became a rallying cry in protests against violence, police corruption, and militia. Upon taking office in 2023, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appointed Franco’s sister, Anielle Franco, as minister of racial equality.
Police said Marielle Franco was killed for opposing a group linked to organized crime that sought to authorize the use of certain areas for commercial purposes, while the councilwoman wanted to set aside the land for popular housing.
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“Of course new elements can emerge and eventually lead to a supplementary report from the federal police,” Lewandowski said. “But at this time the works are closed.”
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