Lula left Three Powers Square before explosions
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not at the Planalto presidential palace during the explosions on Wednesday (Nov. 13). He left Three Powers Square, home to the headquarters of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, at around 5:30 p.m. en route to the Alvorada Palace, his official residence. The explosions occurred around 7:30 p.m.
A sweep of the perimeter around the Planalto palace, conducted by agents from the Office of the president’s Institutional Security (GSI), found no explosives or any other threats to the security of the presidential headquarters. The information was provided by General Marco Antonio Amaro do Santos, GSI chief minister, who oversaw the inspection of the palace.
"The perimeter has been reinforced and an external sweep was conducted. Nothing has been found," said the minister.
The Special Operations Battalion (Bope) of the Federal District Military Police was responsible for conducting a thorough sweep of the entire perimeter of Three Powers Square. By yesterday evening, nothing had been found.
On social media, Minister of Justice Ricardo Lewandowski stated that federal forces are closely monitoring the situation surrounding the explosions and are ready to ensure the full functioning of the government branches. "The Federal Police are working diligently to swiftly determine the motive behind the explosions in front of the Supreme Court, and around the National Congress," said the minister, who is currently on a trip to Uruguay.
Evacuation
According to a Court’s statement, two consecutive explosions occurred early last night at the Three Powers Square, near the Supreme Court headquarters, which was evacuated. The Military Fire Brigade of the Federal District confirmed the death of Francisco Wanderley Luiz, owner of the vehicle. Francisco's body was also located in the square.
The Court also informed that “the justices were safely removed from the building”, as well as servers, collaborators and citizens who were attending the judicial session.
