Immigrant who challenged CHEGA leader on campaign trail was “first target” of neo-Nazi militia

A Bangladeshi immigrant who publicly challenged CHEGA leader André Ventura during Portugal’s 2024 European election campaign was allegedly selected as the first assassination target of the neo-Nazi Movimento Armilar Lusitano (MAL), according to an investigation by Expresso crime reporter Hugo Franco.

The revelations emerge from the indictment issued by Portugal’s Central Department for Criminal Investigation and Prosecution (DCIAP), which last week charged the group’s alleged leaders with multiple terrorism offences.

According to Expresso, MAL leaders discussed launching an armed attack against the 33-year-old Bangladeshi national, who worked picking carnations in greenhouses in northern Portugal.

Investigators say he was singled out because he was an immigrant and had confronted Ventura during a CHEGA campaign walkabout in Póvoa de Varzim in June 2024.

The confrontation, filmed by television crews, became politically contentious after CHEGA claimed the man’s presence had been orchestrated by left-wing activists to provoke an incident. Several party officials also accused him of lying, citing what was later alleged to be a manipulated video presented as a genuine SIC television report.

According to messages cited by Expresso, members of the extremist group identified the man’s workplace and home address before discussing how and where to attack him.

Investigators say the suspects debated targeting him at his home, in his car or at a restaurant, with one member allegedly stating that the attack would only be effective if they used working firearms. Another proposed a specific date for carrying out what they referred to as the “mission”.

The indictment also sheds light on MAL’s wider preparations for violent attacks.

According to Expresso, members buried 60-litre barrels in the Serra da Arrábida, near Setúbal, and Lisbon’s Monsanto forest park, intending to use them as concealed caches for weapons acquired through the dark web, along with food supplies for what they believed could be a future conflict.

Investigators became interested after discovering a photograph of a 3D-printable FGC-9 semi-automatic carbine inside one of the containers. However, when officers from the Judicial Police’s National Counter-Terrorism Unit later excavated several of the buried barrels, they found only canned food and bottles of alcohol. No firearms were recovered, and investigators have not ruled out the existence of additional hidden caches.

The investigation also found that MAL maintained regular contact with figures linked to other Portuguese ultranationalist movements, including Reconquista and Habeas Corpus.

However, according to the indictment cited by Expresso, investigators found no evidence of any formal or informal involvement by CHEGA officials with the organisation, despite some MAL leaders expressing sympathy for the party.

Intercepted conversations nevertheless suggest the extremist group regarded CHEGA as too moderate – criticising it for being too accommodating towards “Brazilians, Angolans and Mozambicans” and dismissing it as “just another system party”.

Despite those criticisms, CHEGA politicians were reportedly not included on the group’s so-called “undesirables” lists, which investigators say identified people who could be targeted in future armed attacks.

Those lists allegedly included around 40 politicians from Portugal’s left and centre-left, as well as Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and former President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

According to Expresso, investigators also believe MAL members deleted large quantities of incriminating communications and preferred face-to-face meetings when discussing the most sensitive operational plans.

One of the alleged leaders, Bruno G., a Lisbon municipal police officer, is said to have repeatedly instructed associates to erase photographs and videos exchanged through Telegram and Signal to reduce the risk of detection.

Ironically, investigators also allege that Bruno G. himself shared numerous videos showing him handling firearms and testing explosives in quarries. In one instance, he allegedly detonated a grenade at home, creating what he reportedly described as “an incredible noise” that frightened his daughter.

Source: Expresso