Ernaldo Pinto de Medeiros, known as “Uê,” was a Brazilian organized-crime figure who became one of the founders of Amigos dos Amigos, commonly known as ADA. The organization emerged in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1990s after Uê was expelled from Comando Vermelho, marking a major realignment in the city's criminal landscape.
Uê had previously been associated with Comando Vermelho. According to contemporary police investigations and press reports, he was expelled from the organization after being accused of plotting the 1994 murder of Orlando da Conceição, known as “Orlando Jogador,” then a prominent Comando Vermelho leader. After the split, Uê became one of the principal rivals of his former organization.
In the late 1990s, Uê joined forces with Celso Luís Rodrigues, known as “Celsinho da Vila Vintém,” and the two were identified as founders of Amigos dos Amigos. The new organization subsequently established an alliance with the Terceiro Comando, creating a coalition opposed to Comando Vermelho.
Uê's influence extended beyond the organization itself. In 2002, Brazilian police described him as an important figure in the wholesale drug trade and attributed control over criminal activities in several communities in northern Rio de Janeiro to his network. These descriptions came from police investigations at the time and should be distinguished from judicial convictions.
His imprisonment did not end his importance within the criminal dispute. Uê had been held at the maximum-security Bangu I prison for approximately six years when tensions between rival factions escalated inside the facility. Contemporary reports stated that he continued to exercise influence over criminal activities despite being incarcerated.
On September 11, 2002, a major prison rebellion broke out at Bangu I. Uê was among the prisoners killed during the uprising. Brazilian authorities and contemporary reporting attributed the deaths to members of Comando Vermelho led by Luiz Fernando da Costa, known as Fernandinho Beira-Mar.
The rebellion had consequences well beyond the prison walls. Uê's death removed one of the central figures in the rivalry between Amigos dos Amigos and Comando Vermelho and contributed to changes in the alliances among Rio's criminal organizations. The relationship between ADA and Terceiro Comando subsequently underwent major changes.
Uê was thirty-three years old when he died. His death marked the end of one of the most prominent chapters in the early history of Amigos dos Amigos, while the organization continued to exist under different leadership.
Historical accounts of Uê often describe him as one of the most influential figures in Rio's organized-crime disputes during the 1990s and early 2000s. However, descriptions of his activities should be separated between facts established in court and allegations or assessments made by police and contemporary media.
Today, Ernaldo Pinto de Medeiros remains associated with the formation of Amigos dos Amigos and with the factional conflicts that reshaped Rio de Janeiro's organized-crime landscape at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
SOURCES
Folha de S.Paulo — Profile of Ernaldo Pinto de Medeiros, “Uê”
Folha de S.Paulo — The death of Uê at Bangu I
Folha de S.Paulo — Uê and the history of Amigos dos Amigos
Folha de S.Paulo — Police investigation into the Bangu I rebellion
Folha de Londrina — The 2002 Bangu I rebellion
