The Departamento de Operações de Informações - Centro de Operações de Defesa Interna ( en, Department of Information Operations - Center for Internal Defense Operations) was the Brazilian intelligence and political repression agency during the military dictatorship (1964–1985). 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 Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...

, using

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

and other

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) 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 activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...

methods, with a focus on anti-

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

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

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

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 Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

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

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

See also

References