The Former chief of staff for Defence Minister Azeredo Lopes said his boss knew everything about the Tancos weapons cover-up, knowledge that the former minister denied as he resigned on October 12th.
Martins Pereira said he had informed the minister about a document outlining the covert activities that saw the weapons cache dropped off in a field close to the military arms store at Tancos, Santarém.
Pereira formally stated on Wednesday that yes, he had informed Defence Minister Azeredo Lopes of the Tancos memorandum in which the weapons cover-up operation was reported in full.
This key document was delivered by the former director of the Military Judiciary Police, Luís Vieira, less than a year ago. As soon as he received the memorandum, Lieutenant General Martins Pereira claims to have passed the information to Azeredo Lopes.
Martins Pereira was heard yesterday as a witness in the Tacos inquiry, stating that wehen he received the document, he immediately called the minister on WhatsApp, whose phone calls and messages are encrypted.
In order to substantiate his allegations, Martins Pereira handed his mobile phone to the investigators, so they can check it out.
When Lopes resigned, he continued to deny that he had any knowledge, "direct or indirect,” of an operation in which an elaborate cover-up intended to protect the perpetrator of the Tancos weapons theft in 2017.
See also: Defence Minister resigns still denying knowledge of Tancos cover-up
Comments
Mike Williams,
I presume this is supposed to be a joke !!
Operation Gladio is the codename for a clandestine North Atlantic Treaty Organisation "stay-behind" operation in Europe during the Cold War.
The CIA and the British secret service, in collaboration with the military alliance NATO and European military secret services, set up a network of clandestine anti-communist armies in Western Europe after World War II.
The network was armed with explosives, machine guns and high-tech communication equipment hidden in underground bunkers and secret arms caches in forests and mountain meadows. In some countries the secret army linked up with right-wing terrorist who in a secret war engaged in political manipulation, harrassement of left wing parties, massacres, coup d'états and torture.
NATO's Secret Armies: Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe by Daniele Ganser is an interesting read.
My suspicion is that this sort of theft has been going on for years and that top level military personnel have been in on it. It is serious enough for a Minister to lie about, and then have to resign, which leads me to believe that there is a lot more to this affair than we yet know.