A few months ago, Mr. Manuel Irênio Nascimento Lopes, a Deputy in ECOWAS Parliament, and also a member of the Parliament of Guiné-Bissau, was arrested on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at Lisbon airport with 13 kilos of cocaine
Mr. Manuel Irênio Nascimento Lopes, who is a strong opponent of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, was also a top member of the “Partidos de Fórum para salvação da democracia da Guiné Bissau”, a group of political parties consisting of the MADEM G-15, PRS and APU-PDGB.
Mr. Manuel Irênio Nascimento Lopes was caught in the act of drug trafficking, shortly after his group “Partidos de Fórum para salvação da democracia da Guiné Bissau”, decided to start a declared war with President Umaro Sissoco Embaló; when he publicly challenged Mr. President.
Mr. José Carlos Macedo Monteiro, a MADEM G-15, Deputy, in one of his statements in press-conference, declared that the motive for the group’s confrontation with President Umaro Sissoco Embaló was because Sissoco blocked all corruption holes in the country and refused a monthly payment of 25 million FCFA to each political leader as requested; an allegation that one of the political leaders, Mr. Braima Camara, later confirmed in a separate statement.
The president, in retaliation, decided to cut all financial support and indirectly isolate some of the members from the Government. This action by the president was a major financial setback for the group.
Many people believed that the need to survive financially by other means was what led an honorable Deputy in ECOWAS Parliament to take such a risk in transporting 13 kilos of cocaine in his suitcases for sale in Portugal.
In one of his audios, Mr. Manuel Irênio Nascimento Lopes, who is still in Portuguese prison, seriously regretted his action and expressed his total disappointment at the fact that the leader of his group, Mr. Braima Câmara, had not expressed any form of solidarity towards him, his sick mother and his families in Bissau. This was a clear indication that the ECOWAS Deputy, Mr. Manuel Irênio Nascimento Lopes, was serving his group who abandoned him when he was caught in the act of drug trafficking.
He also asked President Umaro Sissoco Embaló for forgiveness and begged him to use his good offices to intervene to reduce the prison sentence in the neighboring country {Portugal}.
A few days ago, Guine Bissau authority “Policia Judiciaria” apprehends a jet with 2.633.1 kg of drugs {cocaine} at the international airport Osvaldo Vieira with coordination from foreign agents in operation termed “LANDING”.
The operation that led to the arrest of five individuals, Latin American citizens from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and a Brazilian, including the pilot, was coordinated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Center for Maritime Analysis and Operations-Narcotics (MAOCN), Judicial Police and National Guard of Guinea Bissau etc…
A sensible person will certainly agree with the idea that the plane that transported such a large quantity of drugs was probably intended for the same individuals that provided the 13 kilos of cocaine in Deputy Manuel Irênio Nascimento Lopes’s possession.
In several registered opinions, many agreed that the same people with whom Deputy Manuel Irênio Nascimento Lopes worked are "persons of interest" in this case. And the best place to search is among these individuals in “Partidos de Fórum para salvação da democracia da Guiné Bissau” which needs so much money for the next electoral calendar in November 2024
Therefore, I will not be surprised if these groups of people or political parties are questioned in relation to this private jet from Venezuela loaded with 2,633.1 kg of drugs {cocaine}.