Who are Andrei Rodrigues and Leandro Almada, whose removal Mendonça ordered?

André Mendonça has ordered the removal of the two highest-ranking officials in Brazil’s Federal Police, setting off another confrontation inside the Supreme Federal Court. The decision targets Director-General Andrei Passos Rodrigues and Intelligence Director Leandro Almada da Costa.

Mendonça acted on Tuesday morning after a petition filed by the Novo Party alleged irregularities within the Federal Police. He also ordered the institution’s internal affairs office to open criminal and administrative-disciplinary proceedings into the production of intelligence reports, citing “serious facts identified.”

Rodrigues, 55, has served as a Federal Police delegate for more than 20 years. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appointed him at the beginning of his third term, in January 2023. He previously served as extraordinary security secretary for major events during the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics, and coordinated security for Lula’s in-person 2022 campaign.

Almada, also 55, holds a law degree and has worked in the Army and Civil Police. He took part in investigations into the killings of councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes. Before taking charge of the Federal Police Intelligence Directorate, he led the agency’s regional superintendencies in Amazonas, Bahia and Rio de Janeiro.

Neither official responded when contacted. The proceedings followed Mendonça’s decision to lift the secrecy surrounding investigations into a relationship between Alexandre de Moraes and Daniel Vorcaro. The article also links the dispute to investigations involving Banco Master and INSS. The case remains framed by competing accusations: Federal Police authorities, Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet and Moraes have each, in different ways, accused Mendonça of investigating a Supreme Court minister.

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serious facts identified