PF delegate killed by PM: what we know about what happened in RS
Federal Police (PF) delegate Michel Brasil Saliba, head of the PF Police Station in Chuí (RS), died on Friday (3) as a result of medical complications caused by the shots that hit him during a police operation on Thursday (2). Preliminary information indicates that the shots were fired by a Military Brigade agent.
"The Federal Police expresses its condolences and solidarity to family, friends and co-workers at this time of sadness and consternation", stated the corporation. The general director of the PF, Andrei Rodrigues, declared three days of official mourning.
Saliba was hit during a PF operation that aimed to dismantle a criminal organization specialized in smuggling goods from Miami, in the United States. According to investigations, the suspects operated a parallel financial system to support illicit activities.
According to the Federal Police, the criminal organization originated in Santana do Livramento (RS) and was responsible for coordinating the irregular entry of goods into Brazil through the border with Uruguay. "According to information, part of the group operated in Miami, where the products destined for the scheme came from", informed the corporation.
In total, nine search and seizure warrants were issued, and around 40 bank accounts of individuals and legal entities under investigation were blocked. The amounts involved can reach R$28 million.
Saliba was serving one of the warrants in Passo Fundo (RS) when a military police officer, husband of one of the people being investigated, shot at the agents. The chief was hit, as was another federal police officer.
Both needed medical attention. The second agent was discharged from hospital on the same day, but Saliba remained hospitalized in serious condition. A blood donation campaign was even publicized on the networks to help the police chief, but he did not survive his injuries.
The person who fired the shots was arrested in the act. In a statement, the Military Brigade of Rio Grande do Sul confirmed that the shots were fired by a corporation agent who was on leave "to deal with private interests" and who "had fired a firearm at a federal police officer while executing a court order to the detriment of his wife."
In a note sent to the reporter on Friday night, the Military Brigade informed that the agent is awaiting a custody hearing and that the corporation's General Inspectorate is monitoring the case.
"The Military Brigade expresses its deep regret at the death of the Federal Police delegate and reaffirms its commitment to the preservation of life, legality, transparency and the defense of society", stated the institution.
Michel Brasil Saliba was born in Bagé (RS) and joined the Federal Police in September 2023, at the Federal Police Regional Superintendency in Roraima. In April this year, he took over as head of the PF Police Station in Chuí.
The death was mourned by colleagues and entities linked to public security, who paid tribute to the police chief's family and friends.
"He lost his life in the full exercise of his duties, on the front line of the fight against organized crime, exactly where duty called him, and that is how the institution will protect him: as someone who consecrated the highest sense of duty fulfilled", wrote the National Association of Federal Police Delegates, in a note.
"His death recalls the real and daily risk to which those who fight organized crime are exposed and reaffirms the duty of the Brazilian State to protect, value and support those who stand between society and crime", added the entity.
Source: CNN