Brazil’s main intelligence agency is accused of illegally spying on politicians and high-ranking judges who criticized former president Jair Bolsonaro, according to documents unsealed by the Supreme Court in January 2024. Three Supreme Court justices are among those allegedly targeted by Agência Brasileira de Inteligência (ABIN).

According to a police statement, their investigations under Operation Last Mile indicate a "criminal group" created "a parallel structure within the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) and used its tools and services for illicit acts, producing information for political and media purposes, for personal gain and to interfere in federal police investigations".

Police allege that the rogue intelligence operatives illegally monitored public authorities and others using mobile device geolocation tools without judicial authorization. The name ‘Operation Last Mile’ is reportedly a reference to FirstMile software, developed by Israel’s Cognyte to track cell phones and geolocation data.

Police have so far searched the home and offices of Congressman Alexandre Ramagem, a former spymaster under ex-president Jair Bolsonaro who served from 2019 to 2022. ABIN’s former chief denied any wrongdoing and called the allegations politically motivated.

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Police Raids‍

Federal police also raided a beach house used by the former president and his family. Neither Jair Bolsonaro nor his son, Carlos, have commented on the raid so far. Carlos, a Rio de Janeiro city councillor,  often acted as his father’s spokesman and criticized rivals on social media during Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency. Carlos’ home and office were searched as well, and Brazil’s GloboNews said computers and cell phones were seized.

According to Brazil’s federal police and a Supreme Court statement, “The new suspects were part of the so-called political nucleus of the criminal organization that was created at ABIN to illegally spy on people and public authorities, through an intelligence system capable of monitoring mobile devices without the need for interference from operators. telephony, and without judicial authorization.”

Jair Bolsonaro, who cast doubt on Brazil’s electronic voting system, was banned from running for office for eight years. The former president led a far-right government that lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the 2022 election.
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‍ABIN is Brazil’s main intelligence agency with the role of supplying the presidency with timely, reliable, and stratetic information and analysis to inform decision-making. It operates internationally.

The Agency is headquartered in Brasília and, as of 2024, had 28 field offices in each state capital and two border locations. ABIN also has 18 representations abroad, where ABIN exchanges information with other foreign Intelligence services.