The Aftermath Of The Brazilian Invasion, 40 Troops Who Escorted The Residence Of Brazilian President Lula Was Withdrawed

Brazilian Presidential Guard Battalion. (Wikimedia Commons/Agmancia Brasil/Jose Cruz)

JAKARTA - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva decided to withdraw the 40 soldiers guarding the presidential residence, after expressing distrust in the military for failing to deal with demonstrators who ransacked government buildings in the storming of the capital Brasilia on January 8.

His decision was published on Tuesday in the official Brazilian Government newspaper, reported Reuters, January 18

Most of the troops guarding the Alvorada Palace or Palácio da Alvorada, as the presidential residence is called, come from the army. However, there are also members from the navy, air force and military police.

Last week, President Lula told journalists that members of the security forces were involved in letting mobs of supporters of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro storm the main buildings that are the center of power in Brasilia.

The president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on who would replace the troops guarding the presidential residence.

Investigations into the tantrums are starting to reveal seemingly deliberate lapses in the safeguards that allowed them to occur.

It is known that several thousand Bolsonaro supporters stormed Congress, the Planalto Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court, trying to overturn the results of the October election, which Lula won by a narrow margin.

"Many are involved within the military police. There are many people from the armed forces involved," President Lula told reporters last week.

"I believe the palace doors were opened for these people to enter, because I didn't see the doors were broken," he continued.

President Lula has also stepped up criticism of the army for doing nothing to prevent a two-month encampment of Bolsonaro supporters outside his headquarters, where they demanded the military overturn the results of the presidential election.