Federal Police worked under the law, says minister of mines and energy
The minister of mines and energy, Eduardo Braga, said that Operation Catilinárias, launched Tuesday (Dec. 15) by the Federal Police in Brasília and seven states, is part of the democratic process and was conducted in compliance with the law. 
The minister of mines and energy, Eduardo Braga, said that Operation Catilinárias, launched Tuesday (Dec. 15) by the Federal Police in Brasília and seven states, is part of the democratic process and was conducted in compliance with the law. Senator Braga is a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), who represents the northern state of Amazonas.
“It's a delicate moment, no doubt, but it's part and parcel with a State under the rule of law. I think it was all legal, following a ruling issued by the Supreme Court on the issue, so the law must be observed,” the minister said, during the launch of the Program for the Development of Distributed Electric Energy.
The Federal Police served search and seizure warrants at the official residence of lower house speaker Deputy Eduardo Cunha, of the PMDB, in Brasília, and at his private home in Rio de Janeiro. Also carried out as part of the crackdown were raids at the homes of two ministers: Henrique Eduardo Alves, chief of Tourism, and Celso Pansera, head of Science, Technology, and Innovation, both members of the PMDB. The houses of Senator Edison Lobão (PMDB), former Minister of Mines and Energy, and Fernando Bezerra, ex-Minister of National Integration, a member of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB).
Eduardo Cunha described the operation carried out by the Federal Police as “odd.” “Reports on slush funds in connection with the PT [the ruling Workers' Party] arise everyday. And, all of a sudden, an operation targets the PMDB. It strikes all of us as rather odd.”
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Federal Police worked under the law, says minister of mines and energy
