Almeida Rodrigues defends PJ record after interior minister's criticism

Former director of Portugal’s Polícia Judiciária, Almeida Rodrigues, broke an eight‑year silence by sending a letter to Lusa in which he repudiated the recent criticism from interior minister Luís Neves. Neves had said that when he took over the PJ in 2018 he found the agency “deeply weakened” and lacking resources, infrastructure and staff.

Rodrigues countered that Neves was himself part of the PJ’s senior management during his decade‑long tenure and highlighted a series of investments made despite a financial crisis: completion of the new PJ headquarters in Lisbon, refurbishment of the Funchal department, creation of a unit in Évora, reinstatement of the South Directorate and the Portimão department, and the launch of the National Cybercrime and Technological Crime Unit (UNC3T) and the Asset Recovery Office (GRA). He argued that these actions demonstrate his contribution to strengthening the institution.

Rodrigues concluded that Neves’ public statements ignored the progress made and unfairly tarnished the PJ’s reputation.