The government revealed yesterday that Sergio Luiz de Freitas Filho, aka ‘Mijão’one of the leaders of the first command in the capital (PCC), agreed to Bolivian nationality more than a decade ago through false documents and an irregular marriage. The information arises in the middle of the controversy unleashed by a report from the Brazilian network or globe, which revealed that the PCC capo had led a normal life in Santa Cruz during the last ten years.
At a press conference, the Minister of Government, Roberto Ríos, explained that ‘Mijão’ used the identity of “Sergio Noronha” to naturalize in Bolivia. “He has presented a marriage certificate with a Bolivian citizen in 2011, which allowed him to access naturalization. Then, in 2014, he presented a false birth certificate under the name of Sergio Noronha. With that identity he had no background or observations and even managed to obtain a driver’s license.”
The General Personal Identification Service (Segip) confirmed that the certificate lacked support in its databases and that the false document allowed him to renew his identity card several times. “This procedure does not correspond to the regulations. Everything is being investigated under the direction of the Public Ministry,” added Roberto Ríos.
The minister also recalled that the PCC capo is required by Brazilian justice for planning the murder of an anti -drug prosecutor in his country of origin.
But, the presence of ‘Mijão’ – like a PCC leader in Bolivia – was not unknown to regional authorities. In June, the Brazilian Prosecutor’s Office sent a report, through diplomatic channels, which identified 174 PCC emissaries in Bolivia. On July 4, Interpol Brazil issued a red notification against the capo, warning that he used false documentation. Two months ago, when that report arrived, the issue was not public, although it coincided with the beginning of an unprecedented violent escalation in Santa Cruz de la Sierra with kidnappings and executions perpetrated by hitmen linked to the PCC.
Colonel Juan Carlos Bazoalto, National Director of Interpol Bolivia confirmed on Monday that since then circular circulars were activated and all the departmental directorates of the Police, although without results. “That person does not register income or exit from our country. That is why we ask for complementary information and the preventive detention commandment for extradition purposes, so that, if it is located, it can be put before a judge,” he explained, although then the Minister of Government admitted his presence in the country, although he clarified that the formal notification of Brazil arrived just on August 8.
Of course, after the diffusion of the Brazilian report, last Sunday, the Bolivian police executed three raids in alleged homes linked to the capo, but in all cases it found other people as occupants.
According to the director of the Felcn, Colonel Ángel Morales, there is still no certainty about his permanence in Bolivia. “There is ten years, but there are records that I could have entered only on August 14 of this year. We are validating the information with the Federal Police of Brazil,” he said Monday at a press conference.
The vice minister of controlled substances, Jaime Mamani, confirmed that Intelligence information was requested from Brazil. He did it before Minister Ríos, finally, would accept that this PCC member entered, effectively, the country where he had already established himself to live.
According to the O Globe report, ‘Mikhao’ rented luxurious residences in private urbanizations paying up to $ 5,000 per month. In fact, the police executed raids in the residences that could be inhabited by this boss on the PCC.
Despite the evidence presented by the Government, the Attorney General, Róger Mariaca, reported yesterday in Santa Cruz de la Sierra that to date there is no open criminal process in Bolivia against Sergio Luiz de Freitas Filho or against Sergio Noronha’s false identity. “We have not received an extradition request from Brazil or the Supreme Court of Justice, but from the information disseminated by Brazilian means we have instructed the International Affairs Unit to request official data from the Foreign Ministry and the Prosecutor’s Office of Brazil,” he told journalists.
Mariaca indicated, in any case, that a preliminary investigation was opened for drug trafficking crimes, legitimation of illicit profits and irregularities in identity. “We are in coordination with the Bolivian police to act as soon as formal information is received,” he said.
Given this scenario, Jorge Santistevan, a retirement officer, claimed to the authorities of the Segip and Migration that they have been penetrated by these cases of identity forgery. In 2023, a similar squad came out when it was discovered that Sebastián Marset lived in Santa Cruz with his family.
But, the revelation on the irregular naturalization of ‘Mijão’ generated questions. So far neither the segip nor migration have provided a public report on how the false documents that protected it were issued. Opposition sectors warn that the case exhibits institutional vulnerability in identities control. Meanwhile, the police continue with operations in Santa Cruz, Beni and the Tropic of Cochabamba, although without finding the whereabouts of the Brazilian capo.
