The Departamento de Operações de Informações — Centro de Operações de Defesa Interna (DOI-CODI; ) was the Brazilian intelligence and political repression agency during the military dictatorship of 1964–85. This period started on March 31, 1964, with the removal of the civilian government by military forces and ended in 1984. DOI-CODI was responsible for suppressing internal dissent against the regime. It acted as a

political police 300px, East_German.html" ;"title="Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German">Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 19 ...

, using

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and other

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

methods, with a focus on

anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

. Many political activists, intellectuals, artists, college students and journalists were interrogated, tortured and murdered by the DOI-CODI throughout its existence. The first DOI unit started in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

as a private organization called "OBAN - Bandeirante Operation" ( – OBAN). OBAN was an illegal organization created using members of the federal police, civil state police, military state police and select members of the armed forces. It was financed by private and corporate entities. Each state had a DOI unit subordinated to CODI, which had the role of centralizing the operations. The DOI units' composition mirrored that of the previous OBAN. The largest DOI-CODI, that of São Paulo, had at its peak nearly 250 agents, occupying a large building on Tutóia street. The building gained the infamous nickname of "Tutóia Hilton" (after the Hanoi Hilton of Vietnam) due to the extensive torture which took place in its basement. Vlado Herzog protest

References

Vala de Perus - Municipal inquest into DOI-CODI activities

Brazilian intelligence agencies Defunct intelligence agencies Counterterrorism Anti-communism in Brazil Human rights abuses in Brazil Political repression in Brazil {{Brazil-gov-stub

See also

References