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LATIN AMERICA |
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Rio Drug War
Body Count Reaches 39
RIO DE JANEIRO – Six additional people were
found dead on Friday, bringing to 39 the
death toll from week-long clashes involving
Brazilian police and the drug-dealing gangs
who control many of Rio de Janeiro’s teeming
slums.
Authorities say that all but six of the dead
were criminal suspects, identifying three
other victims as innocent civilians slain by
the drug gangs.
Three police were killed last Saturday when
their helicopter was brought down by heavily
armed drug traffickers.
The bodies of the six newest victims were
discovered Friday in the Fumace “favela,” or
shantytown, after an anonymous telephone
tip.
Some of the nearly 2,000 police officers
engaged in counter-narcotics operations in
more than 10 of Rio’s favelas were met with
gunfire Friday when they entered the Vila
Cruzeiro slum.
Four bystanders, including an octogenarian
army veteran, were hit by stray bullets in
the ensuing battle. Shots were also
exchanged in the Jacare and Mangueira
favelas, where officers had support from
helicopters and armored vehicles.
Police maintained their siege of Morro de
Sao Joao and Morro dos Macacos, the two
slums where the current spasm of violence
began last weekend.
The conflict was sparked by a dispute
between rival gangs over drug corners in
Morro dos Macacos, until now the property of
the Amigos dos Amigos (Friends of Friends)
gang.
Macacos was attacked by gunmen from Morro de
Sao Joao, where the drug trade is controlled
by the Comando Vermelho (Red Command). The
invaders were reinforced by allies from the
Jacarezinho and Complexo do Alemao favelas.
Rio de Janeiro endures frequent clashes
among organized crime groups, security
forces and paramilitaries seeking to
establish control over the favelas that are
home to about a third of the city’s 6
million people.
Last weekend’s carnage caused panic across
the city and attracted international
attention in the wake of Rio’s selection to
host the 2016 Summer Olympics, as even the
Brazilian press raised questions about
whether police would be able to pacify the
favelas in time for the games.
But Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva vowed to address the problem and
promised 100 million reais ($58.8 million)
to the Rio de Janeiro state police to
replace the lost helicopter and upgrade
their equipment. EFE |
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