Brazilian police arrested a man on December 24 suspected of attempting to blow up a fuel truck at Brasilia international airport in order to prevent leftist president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office. 

A homemade explosive device made of dynamite connected to a timer was removed from the truck, which was on the entry road to the airport, by a bomb squad. The Brazilian civil police are now conducting investigations.

According to Brazilian police, the detainee, George Washington de Oliveira Sousa, has said that he also intended to set off explosives in at least two locations in Brasilia, including an electricity substation in Taguatinga, in the western suburbs of the Brazilian capital. He hoped that the explosion would “sow chaos”, forcing the government to declare a state of emergency in which the armed forces would be required to intervene.

“He had a lot of explosive materials at his residence, which shows that he had further intentions,” said police chief Robson Cândido.

Oliveira is one of the supporters of Brazil’s outgoing far-right President Jair Bolsonaro who have been camped outside the army’s barracks in Brasilia, demanding that the armed forces intervene to reject the results of October’s presidential elections. He told police that he works in a service station in the northern state of Pará, and had bought pistols, rifles and other weapons since obtaining an arms license in October 2021.

Lula’s presidential inauguration is currently scheduled for Sunday, January 1. The president-elect tweeted this morning that he would be returning to Brasilia to continue preparations for taking power. He referred to “a new page for Brazil, with more democracy and rights for the Brazilian people,” without mentioning the bomb threat.

Justice and security minister Anderson Torres, of the outgoing right-wing Bolsonaro administration, tweeted that it was “important to wait for official conclusions” before determining responsibilities for what had happened.

Bolsonaro supporters have resorted to violent tactics in recent weeks: on December 12, the day Lula’s victory was certified by Brazilian authorities, a group of them attempted to storm the federal police headquarters in Brasilia, resulting in clashes in which cars and buses were set ablaze.