Brazil’s Supreme Court was evacuated Wednesday evening after two nearby explosions left one person dead in a square near Congress and the presidential palace, police said, sparking security concerns shortly before the country hosted the G20 summit.
The explosions come five days before world leaders from the Group of 20 major economies meet in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a state visit to Brasilia by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The first explosion occurred Wednesday in a parking lot near the court. The Supreme Court judges had just finished a plenary session and were quickly evacuated to safety, the court said in a statement.
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Federal police said they had deployed a bomb squad to the Brazilian capital’s Heart Square to investigate the explosions. The country’s attorney general called the social media outbursts an “attack.”
Police vehicles are seen in front of Brazil’s Supreme Court after explosions at Three Powers Square in Brasilia, Brazil, November 13, 2024. (Reuters/Tom Molina)
A police officer told local television that the dead man found in the square was carrying an explosive device and his body would therefore be carefully inspected in the event of another explosion.
The explosions were heard around the Square of the Three Powers, an iconic square in Brasilia connecting the main buildings of the three branches of Brazil’s federal government.
It was the scene of riots on January 8 last year, when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro ransacked buildings to protest his election defeat.
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President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva left the executive palace on Wednesday evening shortly before the explosions.
