Since he assumed the position of Director General of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), in April 2021, the career of Silvinei Vasques has experienced successive twists and turns until culminating with his arrest this Friday morning (26), at the international airport of Asunción, in Paraguay, after breaking his electronic ankle bracelet and attempting to leave Brazil without judicial authorization. According to federal police, the former leader was trying to board a flight to El Salvador when he was stopped by Paraguayan authorities, who approached him after finding that the passport he presented did not match his personal information.
On December 16, the first chamber of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) sentenced the former director general of the PRF to 24 years and six months in prison for participation in the plot which, according to the General Prosecutor’s Office (PGR), aimed to keep former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in power after his defeat in the 2022 elections. According to the complaint, Vasques was part of the so-called “core two” of the putschist organization, responsible for “managing” the group’s activities.
The members of this core were considered responsible for the preparation of the so-called “coup d’état project”, articulating an action by the PRF aimed at making it difficult for voters in the Northeast region to vote in the second round of the 2022 elections and also for the design of the “Punhal Verde Amarelo” plan, which included the assassination of the authorities. According to the prosecution, the blockades of federal roads were coordinated by Silvinei, with the help of Marília Alencar and Fernando Oliveira.
Born in Ivaiporã (PR), Vasques joined PRF in 1995 and built a 27-year career with the company. Under the Bolsonaro government, he reached the highest position in the institution, becoming director general. He voluntarily retired with his full salary in December 2022, shortly after the end of the presidential election.
A declared supporter of Bolsonaro, the then head of the PRF had even asked on social networks to vote for the candidate for his re-election on the eve of the second round. In a post published on his personal Instagram account the Saturday evening before the vote, the police officer wrote: “Vote 22, Bolsonaro president.” The request was accompanied by a photo of the Brazilian flag, but it was deleted early in the afternoon of the next day. Shortly before the first round, Vasques also presented then-Justice Minister Anderson Torres – the portfolio to which the PRF is subordinate – a Flamengo jersey emblazoned with the number 22, worn by Bolsonaro during the elections. The object was presented by the two men in the auditorium of the company’s headquarters, during an official event.
Vasques was one of the police leaders most aligned with Bolsonarism. In January 2023, for example, he was in Las Vegas, United States, for a week to participate in the Shot Show 2022 sports shooting fair, an event frequently attended by the former president’s children, such as Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) and City Councilor Carlos Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).
In August 2023, the former director of the PRF was arrested for the first time as part of the investigation for interference in the 2022 election, accused of having used his position to act politically in favor of Jair Bolsonaro. Part of the accusations gave rise to internal investigations within the company’s Department of Internal Affairs and investigations carried out by the Federal Police (PF).
According to the investigation, the crimes were planned since the beginning of October 2022. On the day of the second round, extensive patrols were carried out in the northeastern region of the country. After Bolsonaro’s defeat to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) was confirmed, suspicions about the PRF’s actions shifted. As supporters of the defeated candidate blocked dozens of highways across the country, the company, under Vasques’ command, was accused of failing to contain the protests – conduct that was also investigated by the PF.
Silvinei was also ordered to pay a fine of more than R$500,000 for political use of the institution during the 2022 presidential election campaign. The unanimous decision was issued by the 8th Specialized Chamber of the Federal Regional Court (TRF) of the 2nd Region, which analyzed the appeal against an action of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF). Silvinei had been acquitted in first instance of the accusation that, between August and October 2022, he had used the institutional position and image of the PRF to “repeatedly promote” the then president and candidate for re-election, through interviews, social media posts and official public events.
When analyzing the appeal, the 8th Chamber highlighted among the grounds for conviction the presentation of a jersey with the candidate’s number during an official ceremony, the summoning of employees to events with political-partisan content and the publication of a message with an “explicit request to vote”.
In August 2024, Minister Alexandre de Moraes ordered the release of the former PRF Director General. In this decision, the magistrate imposed a series of precautionary measures, including the use of an electronic ankle bracelet, the suspension of the carrying of weapons, the cancellation of the passport, the ban on being absent from the district, the obligation to appear weekly in court and the ban on any contact with other people under investigation.
The release took place a day before Vasques completed a year of pretrial detention at the Pretrial Detention Center II, Complexo da Papuda, Brasilia. Until then, Moraes had rejected requests for provisional release presented by the defense, saying that the legal requirements for continued pretrial detention remained valid. The lawyers claimed that the former PRF did not pose a risk to the investigation, since he was already retired, and cited health problems.
During his stay in Papuda, Vasques was visited by 17 senators, three at a time, authorized by Moraes. Among them were Sergio Moro, Damares Alves, Ciro Nogueira, Jorge Seif, Marcos Pontes and Magno Malta. The minister, however, banned the entry of accompanying persons, such as advisors, security officers, lawyers or family members.
Vasques was also the target of an administrative procedure initiated by the State Secretariat for Prison Administration (Seape) of the Federal District to investigate any practice of moderate disciplinary transgression. After analysis, the commission decided to close the case.
According to the judicial police officers, the former director of the PRF could have acted “in an inconvenient manner, by failing in his duties of politeness towards the authorities, employees, other convicts, visitors and other people within the penitentiary establishment”. The incident was recorded after an alleged argument involving swearing between Vasques and another inmate while they were sunbathing in April this year. Officers said they heard the insults and determined that the fight was motivated by “gossip” and that disagreements between the two prisoners were recurring.
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