Márcio dos Santos Nepomuceno, known as Marcinho VP, is a Brazilian criminal who has spent approximately three decades in prison and has been identified by Brazilian authorities as a major figure within the Comando Vermelho. He was arrested in August 1996 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, and has remained in the Brazilian prison system since then. In 2002, the Supreme Federal Court rejected habeas corpus requests filed on his behalf and upheld a conviction resulting in a 36-year prison sentence. The case involved two homicide convictions from 1996.
Over the years, Marcinho VP has been transferred between different high-security facilities, including federal prisons. In September 2026, Agência Brasil reported that he remained incarcerated at the federal prison in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul. The report noted that some previous sentences had been extinguished, while two preventive detention warrants remained in force. The Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor’s Office had requested that he remain in the federal prison system while the courts reviewed his situation.
His imprisonment has also been accompanied by additional judicial proceedings. In 2024, the Supreme Federal Court upheld a disciplinary sanction against Nepomuceno related to an incident at the Federal Penitentiary in Catanduvas, Paraná, in 2018. The court found that the disciplinary procedure had respected the applicable legal guarantees.
In 2026, the Federal Justice also granted a reduction of 384 days from his sentence after recognizing literary work produced during imprisonment as an eligible basis for sentence remission. The decision followed the publication of four books.
Marcinho VP continues to be held in the federal prison system. Recent investigations by Rio de Janeiro authorities have also continued to identify him as an important historical figure within the Comando Vermelho, although statements arising from ongoing investigations should be distinguished from established judicial convictions.
SOURCES
Agência Brasil — 2026 report
Agência Brasil — Marcinho VP remains in federal prison
Supreme Federal Court (STF) — 2002
STF — Habeas corpus decision involving Marcinho VP
Supreme Federal Court (STF) — 2024
STF — Disciplinary sanction upheld
CNN Brasil — 2026
CNN Brasil — Sentence reduction and prison status
