Council member shot dead on arrival home in Rio de Janeiro state

Brazilian councilman Aldesir Maldonado, 61, was shot in the head on Tuesday evening as he returned home to Sao Gonçalo, the second most populous city in Rio de Janeiro state. The circumstances of the death are being investigated by the homicide department of the neighboring city of Niteroi and no leads are being pursued.

Chichi Maldonado, as he was known in the city, had just arrived at his home in the Porto da Madama area when gunmen outside began shooting at two aides who had left the politician at the scene. According to one version, Aldesir, having heard shots and warning cries of his advisers, left the residence also with a pistol and exchanged fire with the attackers, as a result of which he received a fatal shot in the head.

The São Gonçalo municipal council initially released information that a council member was killed by thieves attempting to rob either a politician or councilors outside the property, but police had already ruled out that possibility, saying the crime did not have the characteristics of an attempted robbery. With a population of 897,000, many neighborhoods dominated by rival criminal gangs and persistent allegations of police corruption, São Gonçalo has become one of the most violent cities in the state of Rio de Janeiro in recent years, but the violence has nothing against politicians This is a local exclusive.

On October 28, two more people linked to politics were killed in the town of Queimados, 69 km from Sao Gonçalo, riddled with bullets by unknown assailants in the middle of a public street. Clayton Damaseno, a traditional city politician and candidate for councilor in next year’s municipal elections, and his councilor Paula Ribeiro Menezes Costa spent the day touring the outskirts of the city campaigning and stopped at an ice cream shop to rest. Soon armed men arrived and riddled both of them with bullets.