I was watching André Ventura’s interview on SIC, conducted by journalist Clara de Sousa, when he dropped the line that says everything about his mindset. Some phrases reveal more about the person saying them than about the topic itself. When Ventura said live on TV that he’d rather see a thug dead than a cop dead, he made clear the kind of society he stands for — one where authority can kill and walk free, where the uniform serves as both moral and legal armor. The problem is that, in Portugal, the “thugs” he’s talking about often wear that same uniform.
Anyone who knows the reality of the streets, the clubs, and Portugal’s urban underworld knows that police corruption is one of the country’s biggest disgraces. The PSP and PJ are neck-deep in drug trafficking, human exploitation, and criminal protection networks. Take the Lux Frágil nightclub, for instance — everyone knows who brings in the cocaine and who looks the other way. There are cops making the deliveries, ensuring safety for real traffickers, and taking their cut of the profits. The very people who should protect citizens are the ones feeding the nightlife crime machine.
Ventura says he’d rather see a thug dead than a cop dead. But what he ignores — or pretends to ignore — is that in Portugal, many cops are the thugs. They’re the ones trafficking, blackmailing, running prostitution rings, controlling the drug market from the shadows. And they never face trial, never go to prison, because corruption inside the police and judicial systems keeps them safe.
Ventura’s statement is dangerous because it gives the State a license to kill. It makes it seem like wearing a uniform equals morality, when in reality it’s often just a pass to join the same rotten system that fuels crime. The real problem isn’t the “street criminal” — it’s the one with a badge and a State paycheck. As long as corruption inside the PSP and PJ remains untouchable, Ventura’s moral crusade is nothing but political theater. He doesn’t want justice — he wants blind authority, power built on fear.
In Portugal, crime can no longer be recognized by the clothes someone wears. It’s inside the police forces, in the hallways of the stations, and at the tables where the profits of the night are counted. Ventura might prefer to see a thug dead. I’d rather see a country where corrupt cops are tried like any other criminal — because only when justice looks inward will the “thug versus cop” narrative finally collapse.
October 2025
This article is in English. Read the Portuguese version ⇒ Ler em português