Operation Car Wash comes roaring back

The last time we discussed Operation Car Wash, it was to point out that Brazilian society’s opinion of the investigation was the lowest it had been in since its inception in 2014. Regardless, the massive corruption operation has apparently been ticking along as normal, albeit pushed from the headlines, thanks to an eventful presidential election.

This week, however, Operation Car Wash returned to the news, with two high-profile cases hitting the front pages.

On Thursday, the Federal Police arrested ten state congressmen in Rio de Janeiro suspected of being part of a massive kickback scheme inside the state legislature.

This morning, the feds issued 19 arrest warrants across five states as part of its investigation into a corruption scandal within the Ministry of Agriculture. Beef baron Joesley Batista, the owner of the world’s largest meatpacking firm, JBS, and a pivotal figure in Brazilian politics over the last 18 months, was among those taken into police custody.

As an illustration of just how big Operation Car Wash has gotten, neither of these high-profile arrests fall directly under the scope of the original investigation. They are in...