Former Brazilian president killed by military: probe

Former Brazilian president Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira had been assassinated by agents of the military dictatorship that ruled from 1964 to 1984, the Sao Paulo Truth Commission revealed Tuesday.

Kubitschek served as president from 1956 to 1961 and planned to run again in 1965, opposing the military regime. He died in 1976 in a car crash, but many suspected that he had been the victim of a plot.

Truth Commission head Sao Paulo City Councilman Gilberto Natalini told the city council that after listening to a series of testimonies and studying pieces of evidence, the commission members came to the conclusion that Kubitschek and his driver, who also perished in the crash, were assassinated by the regime.

"Brazil tried to sweep the military dictatorship's crimes under the rug, not only this one, but many," Natalini said, adding the commission will ask the federal government to officially re- classify Kubitschek's death as murder.

"We will request that Brazil acknowledge that Juscelino was murdered, and did not have an accidental death. This was a crime provoked by a conspiracy," Natalini said.

The Truth Commissions in Brazil are charged with investigating politically motivated crimes that took place during the military dictatorship, including killings and torture.