Brazilian Lawmaker Val Ceasa Denies Obstruction, Claims Political Persecution in Gang-Linked Probe

State Deputy Val Ceasa (PRD) has denied attempting to obstruct a police operation targeting properties used by the criminal faction Terceiro Comando Puro (TCP) in Rio de Janeiro, calling the investigation a form of political persecution. The operation, launched on Thursday (18) by the Rio de Janeiro State Public Prosecutor's Office and the Civil Police, also targets former city councilor Ulisses Marins and Michael Johnny Vianna de Azevedo, a former parliamentary aide to Ceasa and an employee of the municipal company RioLuz.

According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, Ceasa and Marins allegedly visited the 16th Military Police Battalion in December 2023 to inquire about a planned covert operation to demolish properties used by the TCP, including a resort owned by a drug trafficker known as "Peixão," one of the faction's leaders. Ceasa denied going to the battalion and said he only requested that then-Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD) build an Olympic village in the region.

"Every public servant must be investigated. The Justice system has the right to investigate. This is political persecution. I work for the humble," Ceasa told journalists. In response, Mayor Paes, now a pre-candidate for state governor, stated on social media that the operation stemmed from a complaint filed by the city's Public Order Secretariat as part of a task force with the Public Prosecutor's Office to combat illegal constructions in areas controlled by organized crime.

The city of Rio de Janeiro announced that Michael Johnny Vianna de Azevedo will be dismissed from his position, effective Friday's edition of the Official Gazette. The municipality noted that he was appointed on February 4, 2025, and that nothing at the time prevented his nomination. Former councilor Ulisses de Almeida Marins is not a municipal employee, having been barred from a city government position by the integrity secretariat.