President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday (1) that he is sending the armed forces to increase security at some of the country’s most important international airports, ports, and borders, as part of a renewed effort to combat organized crime in the largest country in Latin America.
The decision comes days after members of a criminal gang set fire to dozens of buses in Rio de Janeiro, apparently in retaliation for the police killing the nephew of their leader.
“We have reached a very serious situation,” Lula said at a press conference in Brasília after signing the decree. “So we made the decision that the federal government would participate actively, with all its potential, to help state governments, and Brazil itself, to rid itself of organized crime.”
Brazil will mobilize 3,600 members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to increase patrols and monitor international airports in Rio and São Paulo, as well as two seaports in Rio and the port of Santos in São Paulo, the busiest in Latin America—and a major cocaine export hub.
The deployment is part of a broader government plan that includes increasing the number of federal police forces in Rio, improving cooperation among law enforcement agencies, and increasing investment in cutting-edge technology for intelligence gathering.
State and federal authorities have said in recent weeks that they want to “squeeze” the militias by blocking their financial resources.
Justice Minister Flávio Dino said the measures announced on Wednesday are part of a plan that has been developed since Lula took office on January 1, and the result of months of consultations with police forces, local authorities, and public security experts.
The escalation of violence in Rio
The latest wave of unrest in Rio began on October 5, when gunmen killed three doctors at a seaside bar, mistaking one of them for a militia member. The powerful militias in the city emerged in the 1990s and were originally formed mainly by former police officers, firefighters, and military personnel who wanted to combat lawlessness in their neighborhoods. They began charging residents for protection and other services, but more recently have turned to drug trafficking themselves.
Since then, there has been increasing pressure for state and federal governments to develop a plan and demonstrate that they have control over public safety in the postcard city of the country.
On October 9, days after the doctors’ deaths, the state government of Rio sent hundreds of police officers to three of the city’s largest low-income neighborhoods.
And on October 23, Rio police killed Matheus da Silva Rezende, known as Faustão, a member and nephew of a militia leader. In a clear show of defiance, the criminals set fire to at least 35 buses.
On Wednesday, the Federal Police of Rio said they had arrested another militia leader and key members of the militia controlling Rio das Pedras and Barra da Tijuca, areas near where the fires occurred. They said they seized several luxury and bulletproof cars, goods, and cash.
Source: AP