Arrest of former aide raises pressure on President Bolsonaro

Since the beginning of 2019, ‘Where is Queiroz?’ has become something of a rallying cry in Brazil for those opposed to President Jair Bolsonaro. ‘Queiroz,’ in this case, is Fabrício Queiroz, the former driver and close advisor of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the president’s eldest son. Regarded as the crucial element to blowing open corruption investigations that involve multiple members of the Bolsonaro family, Fabrício Queiroz had been on the run from the law for a year. That is, until this morning, when he was arrested in the state of São Paulo.

Fabricio Queiroz was taken into custody early on Thursday, being escorted out of a countryside property in the town of Atibaia, 60 kilometers north of São Paulo. The former advisor had been holed up at a home belonging to Frederick Wassef, the lawyer of both Jair and Flávio Bolsonaro.

Mr. Wassef is currently one of the president’s closest interlocutors, meeting with Mr. Bolsonaro regularly and attending official government functions.

According to an employee on the property, Mr. Queiroz had been living at the residence for around one year. In interviews with local media in 2019, Mr. Wassef denied knowing anything about Mr. Queiroz’s whereabouts, as did Senator Bolsonaro.

Tightening the screw on the Bolsonaro family

This morning’s arrest came as part of Operation Angel, a joint effort between the prosecution service of Rio de Janeiro and the São Paulo civil police. ‘Angel’ is Frederick Wassef’s nickname among the Bolsonaro family, as he provides legal counsel to both President Jair and Senator Flávio. The operation is in connection with an alleged corruption scheme involving Flávio Bolsonaro during...