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LatinNews Daily - 28 March 2018

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Security crackdown in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro intensifies

Development: On 27 March, the public security secretariat of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state reported that 24 people had been arrested following a military-police operation carried out in the state capital on the same day.

Significance: Yesterday’s operation was one of the largest carried out in the city of Rio de Janeiro since the government led by President Michel Temer ordered a federal security intervention in the state in February to try to control spiralling levels of violence. While the objective of the federal security intervention is to target the various criminal and drug trafficking organisations that operate in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, the initiative has been criticised in some quarters on the grounds that it is another example of the militarisation of public security, which often leads to the commission of human rights violations by the security forces, and which does not address the root causes of the problem.

  • The Rio de Janeiro public security secretariat reported that a contingent of 3,400 members of the military and 500 state police officers were involved in the operation that targeted the Lins de Vasconcelos complex of favelas located in the city of Rio de Janeiro’s northern zone. The security forces contingent used armoured vehicles to enter the area and arrest suspected criminals. According to an official statement, 16 of those arrested had arrest warrants out in their name while the remaining eight were arrested on suspicion of being involved in drug trafficking and/or for carrying illegal firearms.
  • The security forces also seized 10kgs of marihuana, “large amounts” of cocaine and crack cocaine, and firearms and ammunition. While the authorities reported that the security forces were met by gunfire when they first entered the Lins de Vasconcelos complex, no casualties were reported in what was deemed a successful operation.
  • Following the operation President Temer signed a decree providing more funding for the federal security intervention in Rio de Janeiro. Under the decree, the federal government will provide an additional R$1.2bn (US$360m) for the security intervention in Rio de Janeiro to ensure that it can continue until the end of the year.
  • The figure is higher than the R$1bn initial pledge made by the Temer government, but lower than the R$3.1bn that General Walter Braga Netto, the military commander in charge of initiative, recently said would be needed to extend the operation until the end of the year.

Looking Ahead: Local civil-society figures yesterday once again complained that the militarisation of public security in Rio de Janeiro will not resolve the issue of growing criminality in the state and will only produce more violence and death. Accusing the Temer government of ordering the intervention for political reasons to try shore up public support ahead of the October general election, they called for a rethink of the strategy. The debate over how to deal with rising insecurity looks set to become a major electoral issue. 

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