Brazil's Federal Police arrested Daniel Trindade, a congressional candidate of the Partido Liberal (PL) in the state of Roraima, on Friday morning (Sept. 25) in Boa Vista, on suspicion of vote buying. The arrest came during Operation Cunhambebe, which investigates his suspected role in creating and training a private militia to operate in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Territory, one of Brazil's largest indigenous reserves, in northern Roraima. Trindade is an investigated suspect and is presumed innocent.
The operation served three search and seizure warrants issued by the Federal Court at addresses linked to the candidate in Boa Vista and the town of Cantá. The warrants were authorized by Judge Victor Oliveira de Queiroz of Roraima's 4th Federal Criminal Court. According to reporting by Rede Amazônica, a regional TV station, officers found evidence of electoral crimes during the searches, and the candidate was taken to the Federal Police headquarters in the state. G1 said it had been trying to reach Trindade's lawyers, who had not commented by publication time.
How the case began
The investigation started in May, after agents of the Federal Highway Police and the environmental agency Ibama were attacked during an operation against illegal gold mining in the Napoleão community, one of the areas most affected by cyanide-based gold extraction inside the reserve. Members of a group tried to block their vehicles, and videos recorded in the region show officers being chased by motorcycles amid sounds similar to gunfire. The Federal Police then found that Trindade ran a clandestine private security course, without the required authorization, that taught operational tactics. At the police's request, a court suspended the course for 180 days. According to G1, the candidate is described as responsible for encouraging crimes and trying to block environmental inspections, and the militia would be made up of indigenous people.
What police allege and what the court ordered
In an official statement, which does not name the candidate, the Federal Police says the operation aims to clarify the extent of the facts, identify possible participants and halt ongoing illegal activity. The agency lists the suspected crimes:
"According to the evidence gathered so far, there are indications of the practice, in theory, of the crimes of formation of a private militia, incitement to crime, qualified receiving of stolen goods, endangering the life or health of third parties, illegal exercise of economic activity and obstruction of environmental inspection."
In his ruling, Judge Victor Oliveira de Queiroz barred Trindade from entering any indigenous land in Roraima and from contacting members of the Napoleão community or the president of the Roraima Archers Association. He ordered the seizure of documents and electronic devices for forensic examination and authorized searching the candidate on public roads, since he travels constantly through the interior while campaigning. Any violation of the restrictions can lead to pretrial detention.
The next steps are the forensic analysis of the material seized in Friday's searches and Trindade's presentation to the Federal Court, for which no date had been announced by publication time. Vote-buying allegations in Brazil are judged by electoral courts, which can revoke a candidacy upon conviction. Trindade is running for a federal deputy seat in Roraima in the October elections.