The Rio de Janeiro secretary of Public Security, general Richard Nunes, confirmed that the police has identified some suspects of the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco (PSOL), shot to death in downtown Rio on March 14th.
Eight months have passed, and the crime has yet to be solved. Nunes said that the police hadn't made any arrests because officers believe that once one of them is arrested, the others will escape. So the investigators are still figuring out a way to capture all of them at once.
The goal is to have them accused with such a substantial body of evidence that it would make it very hard for the suspects to avoid a conviction. The secretary also said he intends to have the case solved at the end of the federal intervention period, set for December 31st.
Nunes also confirmed that the police suspects that militia groups committed the crime. He also said that it's "likely" that there are politicians involved in Franco's assassination. The councilwoman was a human rights activist and advocated for the rights of people of color and in impoverished conditions.
Translated by NATASHA MADOV