Brazil: Alone against the death squads

Norwegian version

French version, go to AI Belgium

Manoel Correia was a notorious killer with a private cemetery for his victims. This is quite normal for contract killers in Brazil - they leave no traces. But Correa was also a cog in the wheel of a game controlled by a governor, a chief of police, and a mighty businessman. Autumn 2002 Correa was arrested on suspicion of murder. During the interrogation he named the chief of police as the person who had ordered him to kill police investigator Francisco Badenes. The same evening Correa was taken to another prison and killed. The statement was never reported.

State of lawlessness

Over the last decade organized crime involving police, the judiciary, top politicians, media, and mighty businessmen has almost taken control over the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo north of Rio de Janeiro. Death squads, liquidations of judges and other human rights defenders, weapon and drug traficking, corruption, white washing of money, and a constant obstruction of investigations have lead to a state of almost complete lawlessness. Amnesty International has monitored the situation for a long time and has asked for a federal intervention in order to put an end to impunity and the grave human rights violations. In 2002 this was also the recommendation of the Brazilian Lawyers’ Association and the Minister of Justice Miguel Reale Junior. However, president at that time Fernando Henrique Cardoso refused. Election was approaching and he did not want the world to believe that Brazil had a weak democracy. The minister of justice chose to resign.

The mafia behind organized crime in Espirito Santo is the legitimate police organization Scuderie Detetive Le Cocq, which claims to be an "idealistic organization" founded in the 1960’s. Le Cocq’s "idealism", however, is of a particular criminal nature. In the early 1990’s it specialized in "social cleansing" and a large number of street children were killed. They did not even try to hide who was behind the killings leaving behind their "card" with the emblem of the organization: a skull with the letters EM which is short for "esquadrão de morte" - death squad.

Le Cocq controls everything

Police investigator Francisco Badenes has dedicated his life to combat Le Cocq. In the early 1990’s he worked at the homicide department in Rio de Janeiro, but in 1993 he was ordered to go to Vitoria, capital of Espirito Santo state to try to solve about 40 unsolved cases of murdered children.

- Vitoria is a relatively small city, but still it had the highest killing rate in Brazil. The local police did nothing to solve the homicide cases, quite to the contrary, says Badenes in an interview with AmnestyNytt. He soon discovered that the killing of the children seemed to occur "accidently" when the police union was negotiating their salaries, to demonstrate the need for additional resources in the police force. If their wage demands were not met, more bodies of killed children would turn up.

- I also found out that the police officers involved in the investigation of the killings were members of Le Cocq, and so were the defense lawyers, the journalists who covered the cases in the local media, the judges, and businessmen. None of them would like to see the cases solved and they resented the fact that I was succeeding in my investigation.

Very soon Badenes and his people were able to present evidence that Le Cocq was in fact a criminal organization. - In spite of that we have not been able to break up the organization; too many powerful politicians and businessmen are involved.

"Amnesty help!"

Much to the discontent of the local chief of police and power elite Badenes’ investigation soon brought results. - My boss asked me to finish my work and write a concluding report, but I refused. There were still too many unsolved killings. Then they started putting spokes in my wheel. Men were removed from my team, my car was confiscated, my office was given to somebody else, and official bodies refused to cooperate and held back evidences. Charges of criminal libel and false accusations were brought against me. I was transferred to a police district in a small community where the mayor was a member of Le Cocq and wanted my head on a plate.

However, Badenes had strong support by local human rights defenders and they demanded that the investigations should continue. In addition the authorities were under pressure from Amnesty. In Badenes’ opinion this support was vital.

- Without the support of Amnesty I could have packed it in a long time ago, he says.

- Le Cocq has the media and the power apparatus in Espirito Santo on its side and we could hardly be heard and our words would be twisted. In Brazil, Amnesty is a highly esteemed organization and national media covers the critics against Espirito Santo. This has forced the national and local authorities to take action and I have been given breathing space to go on with my work. But when international attention ceases they will be at it again. I have lost count of all the e-mails I have sent to Amnesty’s Brazil-team under the subject "help".

In the wake of Francisco Badenes’ exposures, a flow of charges against him has been made. He is charged with libel, false accusations, and vindictiveness. Even though the majority of these charges were highly unreasonable, Badenes has been forced to spend most of his time to defend himself in court. And he has been his own defense because very few lawyers have been willing to take his cases knowing it would be damaging to their careers. On his salary he cannot afford expensive lawyers’ fees. This steals time from his investigation work. Constantly faced with new charges, it was becoming impossible for him to carry on with his work in Espirito Santo and two years ago he decided to move to Brasilia. Now, finally - after more than 30 trials - he is able to see an end to it.

Exposure of the power elite

In spite of the strong opposition to his work, Badenes has achieved sensational results. Through his investigation he has revealed that top-level politicians, policemen, businesspeople, attorneys, defense lawyers, and judges are affiliated to Le Cocq and responsible for organized crime in the state of Espirito Santo. In 1995 he presented a 5297 pages long report to the Brazilian authorities and to the UN Human Rights Commission on the activities of Le Cocq. In his report he exposes a number of names and documents and he concludes that:

"Whenever influential persons are involved legal authorities are deliberately withholding evidence and delaying the process... The prosecuting authorities obstruct further investigation... Evidence gathered by experts disappear or are being manipulated by the police department. Forced confessions and false alibis are used to protect the men behind."

Among the people exposed in the report were Jose Carlos Gratz, president of the Legislative Assembly of the state and later state governor; Carlos Guiherme Lima, a powerful businessman, and chief of police Walter Gomes Ferreira. Badenes revealed that the three among other things were responsible for a number of political killings, embezzlement of public money amounting to billions of dollars and the subversion of the state judiciary.

- Gratz was in charge of the tenders of the state and signed false contracts with Lima, who laundered the embezzled money. Ferreira got rid of "irritating" people, "burned" archives and obstructed the effectiveness of investigations. Finally Gratz, as the president of the Legislative Assembly, controlled the judiciary and guaranteed impunity.

Still, another eight years would pass before the three finally were arrested during spring 2003.

- We have won some battles, says Badenes to AmnestyNytt. - But we still have a long way to go. The trials are pending and the three men have the best lawyers in Brazil to represent them and very few people dare to witness against them. Le Cocq is harshly controlling Espirito Santo.

"I do not exist"

Badenes is making a great contribution to human rights - which can’t usually be said about the Brazilian police. Killings, torture, corruption, illegal weapon trade, and camaraderie are commonplace and many policemen have reason to fear Badenes’ work. The Le Cocq- investigator is not popular among his own and he knows that there is a price on his head. A too low price, he says. Many of his partners, like the lawyer Marcelo Denadai, have been killed and chief of police Ferreira had issued a killing order on Badenes. Pure luck and the instincts of the contract killer Manoel Correa saved his life at that time. Badenes’ strategy for staying alive is as follows:

- I do not exist, he says. I do not have a social life, I live alone without any family, I avoid public places and private parties. There are no pictures of me, no-one knows me. I am always armed, always sitting with my back against the wall and my face to the door. I am only "off duty" when I travel to faraway places like the paradise island Fernando de Noronha, to the jungle of Amazonas or abroad.

Badenes and his supporters live a very dangerous life, but he is not inclined to give in.

- I cannot live my life in cowardice. I can never forget the sight of the murdered children and the desperate cries of their mothers. The children had not even reached puberty. I cannot let the killers get away with it. Besides, after all these years I realize that I have achieved something. No-one believed that it was possible to stop men like Gratz, Ferreira, and Lima. Now they are behind bars, charged for childmurder, corruption, and drug traficking. When I started in 1993, I was almost alone in believing that it was possible to combat organized crime. Now I see a new emerging generation of policemen who believes that it is possible to defend human rights. That gives me inspiration to go on.

Translated by Laila Belle

Amnesty: Impunity gives lawlessness

Read Amnesty's documents about organised crime in Espirito Santo (engelsk):

25.03.2003: The murder of judge Castro Filho must not remain unpunished

26.11.2002: Witnesses in danger after the killing of Manoel Corrêa

27.09.2002: Espirito Santo, a state under siege

26.07.2002: Bombattack on the lawyers association in Vitoria

25.07.2002: No more empty promises, many lives in danger

09.07.2002: Presidential stamp on impunity, Minister of Justice resigns

05.07.2002: Justice beckons in Espirito Santo

12.06.2002: Death threats against the supporters of Marcelo Denadai