General Augusto Heleno was sentenced to 21 years in prison for involvement in a 2022 coup plot. During a medical exam, he revealed living with Alzheimer's since 2018, a year before taking over the Institutional Security Office. His military history includes controversial episodes since the 1970s.
General Augusto Heleno, sentenced to 21 years in prison for his role in the 2022/2023 coup plot, has a career marked by military incidents. Currently held at the Planalto Military Command, his conviction has become final. In a recent medical exam, Heleno admitted living with Alzheimer's disease since 2018, when, a year later, he took charge of the Institutional Security Office (GSI) in the Bolsonaro government.
His career includes tense episodes during the military dictatorship. On the morning of October 21, 1977, as a captain and aide-de-camp to Army Minister Silvio Frota – dismissed by President Ernesto Geisel –, Heleno tried to phone General Fernando Bethlem, commander of the Southern garrisons, to summon him to a High Command meeting aimed at cornering Geisel. However, Bethlem had already been invited to assume the ministry at the Planalto Palace.
A year later, in 1978, Heleno was monitored by the National Information Service (SNI). A report stated: "It is worth remembering that cavalry captain Augusto Heleno, former aide-de-camp to General Silvio Frota and who continues to maintain close ties with him, and paratrooper infantry captain Burnier (son of Brigadier Burnier) linked to General Hugo Abreu, will attend the Officers' Advanced School".
In 2008, sertanista Sydney Possuelo compared Heleno to Colonel George Custer, a historical figure known for massacres against indigenous people. In 2018, the same year as his Alzheimer's diagnosis, Heleno spoke at the Superior War School (ESG), stating: "when point operations [of the Army in Rio] begin, a bunch of guys will start complaining about human rights. If the human rights people don't have human rights, we have to fix that first". He added: "Colombia was in civil war for 50 years because they didn't do what we did in Araguaia", referring to the military repression in the region, where the Army killed guerrillas, including those who surrendered, without explaining details.
Heleno's family also has a turbulent military history. In 1912, his grandfather, frigate captain Augusto Heleno, was part of the War Council that tried the rebelling sailors in the Whip Revolt.
On July 5, 2022, before the elections, Heleno stated in a meeting: "There won't be a VAR review. So, whatever needs to be done must be done before the elections. If you have to slam the table, it's before the elections. If you have to flip the table, it's before the elections". Despite admitting pre-election actions, he was convicted for post-election plans.