Paulo Figueiredo criticized John Kiriakou for comments about alleged CIA interference in Brazil. According to Figueiredo, Kiriakou confused a conversation involving Jair Bolsonaro with another involving Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the source of the accusation would be Lula himself. The author also accused the press of promoting this version and acting in favor of the Brazilian president. Figueiredo stated that Kiriakou worked for Sputnik, a Russian state media outlet, and noted that the producer of the channel in the United States received a mandate from the Department of Justice to register as a foreign agent. He also mentioned a report from The New Republic that described Kiriakou as a former CIA agent who became a Russian propagandist. According to Figueiredo, Kiriakou claimed to have contractually guaranteed independence but did not present the document when requested. The author further cited reports from Kiriakou that he claimed were later corrected. He said Kiriakou stated that Abu Zubaydah confessed after a simulated drowning application, but documents indicated at least 83 applications in one month. Figueiredo added that ABC corrected the report and that Kiriakou clarified he did not witness the procedure. He also stated that Kiriakou acknowledged as false a claim that Hillary Clinton arranged a $20 million payment to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, linked to the Ukrainian church. Figueiredo also mentioned that Kiriakou pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months in prison for revealing the identity of a CIA undercover agent. Regarding Brazilian politics, he asserted that the PT party was using the allegation of foreign interference to attempt to annul the opposing coalition in the Supreme Federal Court. In contrast, he noted that Lula met, outside of the official agenda, with Nikolai Patrushev, advisor to Vladimir Putin and former head of the FSB, and that Patrushev visited the NAM Atlântico, Brazil's largest warship. For Figueiredo, the press did not give equivalent coverage to these connections and to Kiriakou's work for Sputnik. #CIA #Lula #Bolsonaro (translated)


