The Minister of Internal Administration, Margarida Blasco, justified, this Tuesday, the choice of superintendent Luís Miguel Ribeiro Carrilho as the new national director of the Public Security Police (PSP) with the need to make an "operational restructuring and a reorganization" of the security force. 

"We are making an operational restructuring and a reorganization of the entire PSP device, in order to respond to new threats, in order to understand the phenomena that are happening in various urban centers", said the minister, in statements to journalists from Belas. 

Margarida Blasco refused to comment on the dismissal, not answering whether José Barros Correia was not the right person to be at the head of the PSP at this time. The minister insisted that she speaks of this new appointment "for the future". 

"I speak for the future. I invited superintendent Luís Carrilho to command and to be with us in this project", she stressed, in a reference to the Government Program. 

"What we are doing at this moment and what I want to tell you again is that we are making a restructuring in the PSP and I count on superintendent Luís Carrilho to do it with us and in a consequent and fast way", she insisted.

Asked if the dismissal of José Barros Correia was her entire responsibility, as he himself pointed out, the Minister of Internal Administration responded only with praise for the role that the superintendent had at the head of the security force and returned to the future of the PSP. 

"You have not yet read the curriculum of superintendent Luís Carrilho, if you read it you will see what are the new challenges that the PSP has", she said.

"Superintendent José Barros Correia was a person who honored with all his humanity, with all loyalty to the PSP. At this moment, we are starting a new project", she completed on the subject. 

Risk allowance? "I am sure that we will reach a good solution"

Margarida Blasco also refused to make any association between this issue and the ongoing negotiations regarding the risk allowance, also emphasizing that she believes that the Government will reach a "good solution" with the union associations.

"The issue of the risk allowance is an issue that is under negotiation (...) I am sure that we will reach a good solution", she said.

Confronted with the criticisms pointed out to the Government's proposal on this allowance, the minister reinforced that in the negotiations "there are advances, deadlocks" and that it is necessary to "wait".

"We are in a loyal, frank, open and transparent negotiation. We are here and the unions are here and I am sure of that. As we are all responsible people, and we are talking about almost 45 thousand people, I think we will reach a good end", she said, referring more questions to May 15, the day when a new negotiation meeting takes place.

It should be recalled that Margarida Blasco yesterday appointed superintendent Luís Miguel Ribeiro Carrilho as the new national director of the PSP, who replaces José Barros Correia in office.

In a statement, the Ministry of Internal Administration stated that "this decision to appoint comes within the scope of the operational restructuring of the PSP, both at the national level and at the level of the institutional and international representation of this public security force".

Superintendent Luís Carrilho held, until then, the position of commander of the Special Police Unit (UEP), having held the positions of head of the security service of the Presidency of the Republic, United Nations police adviser and director of the Police division in the UN Department of Peace Operations.

Luís Carrilho was also commander of the United Nations Police in three peacekeeping operations in the Central African Republic, Haiti and East Timor, where he was the first director of the National Police Academy of East Timor.

In Portugal, Luís Carrilho served as commander of the PSP Personal Security Corps, chief of staff of the director of the Institute of Police Sciences and Internal Security, editor-in-chief of the PSP Portuguese Police magazine and commander of the security squad at the official residence of the prime minister.

In a message sent to all PSP staff and to which Lusa had access, José Barros Correia attributed his removal from office to the "exclusive initiative" of the Minister of Internal Administration and said that he will now go into pre-retirement after 40 years in the PSP.

[News updated at 4:54 pm]

Read Also: PSP reinforces visibility on the roads for the safety of pilgrims (Portuguese version)