Two prisoners escaped from the Mossoró Federal Penitentiary, in the western region of Rio Grande do Norte. This is the first recorded escape in the history of the federal penitentiary system, which has five maximum-security prisons. The fugitives were identified as Rogério da Silva Mendonça, aged 35, and Deibson Cabral Nascimento, aged 33, also known as “Tatu” or “Deisinho”. Both are linked to Red Command.
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The Federal Police were called to take part in the operation to recapture the fugitives and to investigate the responsibilities in the episode.
The scape
The main suspicion so far is that the two prisoners had used materials from a construction site in the penitentiary yard as tools during the escape, according to people with access to the investigation.
The inmates allegedly opened a hole in the ceiling of the cell and managed to escape while sunbathing.
There is still no information on whether there was help from prison officers, other employees, or outsiders in the escape. Both hypotheses are being investigated, but there is already a consensus that there was a failure in the inspection.
Federal Penitentiary System
The Federal Penitentiary System (SPF) was created to combat organized crime, isolating criminal leaders and highly dangerous prisoners, according to the Ministry of Justice.
In addition to Mossoró, the federal system has prisons in Catanduvas (PR), Campo Grande (MS), Porto Velho (RO), and Brasília (DF), which receive highly dangerous prisoners.
Potiguar Prisons
Although this is the first escape from federal prison, Rio Grande do Norte has a history of problems in state prisons. One of the main cases was the Alcaçuz Massacre, in 2017, which left 27 dead and more than 50 escaped from the state’s largest penitentiary.
In March 2023, more than 300 attacks orchestrated by a criminal faction were carried out in several cities in Rio Grande do Norte. Criminals shot at properties and vehicles and caused arson in public and private buildings, cars, and buses.
According to the Public Ministry, the cause of the attacks was the inmates’ dissatisfaction with the prison conditions, including intimate visits, which had been suspended since the Alcaçuz massacre.
Prison Direction Fired
The Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, determined on Wednesday (14/02) the immediate removal of the current management of the Federal Penitentiary in Mossoró, in Rio Grande do Norte, and appointed an intervenor to command the management of the unit.
The federal criminal police officer who will take over the prison is already in the city — his name was not released by the department for security reasons.
Lewandowski also ordered the review of security equipment and protocols in the country’s five federal penitentiaries.
Analysis:
The escape of inmates from the Maximum-Security Penitentiary of Mossoró (RN) during the early hours of Wednesday (14/02) represents an unprecedented failure in the system made up of five prisons administered by the federal government. This incident also marks the first crisis faced by the newly appointed Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski.
The Federal Penitentiary System (SPF), established in the second term of the Lula government in 2006, emerged as a State response to a series of rebellions that broke out that year. These events were triggered by prisoners affiliated with a São Paulo faction, who led revolts in 74 state penitentiaries, ordering attacks on police officers, prison guards, and police stations.
The escape in Mossoró highlights an unexpected vulnerability in the SPF, designed to house highly dangerous inmates and isolate criminal leaders. Furthermore, it highlights the urgent need to review and improve security measures implemented in all units under federal management.
Minister Ricardo Lewandowski’s management, when facing this first crisis, will have the challenge of reestablishing trust in the federal penitentiary system, as well as investigating the specific circumstances that led to the escape in Mossoró. A rapid and effective response, both in capturing fugitives and implementing corrective measures, will be crucial to demonstrating the government’s commitment to security and order in the prison system.
Source: G1 [1] [2] [3]; Folha de São Paulo
