A decade ago, a Brazilian man was part of a mass killing of primarily teenagers from impoverished neighborhoods known as “The Slaughter of Curió.” But it wan’t until 2023 that he was convinced and sentenced to 275 years and 11 months in prison.
During that time, officials said, he lied on his asylum application and had been living in Massachusetts.
Antonio Jose De Abreu Vidal Filho, 31, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 16 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury in February.
On Nov. 12, 2015, numerous Brazilian military police officers, including De Abreu, participated in a mass killing event of primarily teenagers from the impoverished neighborhoods of Barroso, Messejana, Guajeru, Curió and Lagoa Redonda in the capital of Ceará. It was a little over a year after De Abreu first joined the Ceara State Military Police.
The killings, officials said, were in retaliation for the death of another police officer who was killed attempting to defend his wife who was being assaulted. Eleven people were killed and many others seriously injured and tortured.
A total of 45 individuals, including De Abreu, were charged by the Brazilian authorities. On Aug. 31, 2016, De Abreu was arrested and detained by the Brazilian police but was released pending trial on May 24, 2017.
Two weeks later, De Abreu applied for a United States non-immigrant B2 visitor visa. When asked whether he had ever been arrested or convicted for any offense or crime, De Abreu responded “no.”
De Abreu’s visa application was approved later that month.
He eventually came to Miami on May 30, 2018. In 2020, he applied for asylum, and once again lied when asked whether he had ever been accused, charged, arrested, detained, interrogated and imprisoned in any country other than the United States, according to officials. He also failed to disclose his arrest and detention in Brazil when he applied for adjustment of status with United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.
On June 25, 2023, De Abreu was convicted of 11 counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and four counts of physical and mental torture in the First Court of Fortaleza, Ceará. He was sentenced to 275 years and 11 months in prison.
But he was already in the United States and an arrest warrant was issued.
On Feb. 9, 2024, De Abreu testified under oath at an immigration hearing conducted by U.S. Immigration Court, claiming that he had never lied to immigration officials and that the only reason he had left off important information on immigration documents filed with the United States government was because he had not yet been arrested.
After serving his perjury sentence in the U.S., De Abreu is subject to deportation.
