Current:Home > FinanceBrazil to militarize key airports, ports and international borders in crackdown on organized crime-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Brazil to militarize key airports, ports and international borders in crackdown on organized crime
View Date:2024-12-23 20:21:14
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Wednesday he is sending the armed forces to boost security at some of the country’s most important airports, ports and international borders as part of a renewed effort to tackle organized crime in Latin America’s largest nation.
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 slaying their leader’s nephew.
“We have reached a very serious situation,” Lula said at a press conference in Brasilia after signing the decree. “So we have made the decision to have the federal government participate actively, with all its potential, to help state governments, and Brazil itself, to get rid of organized crime.”
Brazil will mobilize 3,600 members of the army, navy and air force to increase patrols and monitor the international airports in Rio and Sao Paulo, as well as two maritime ports in Rio and Sao Paulo’s Santos port, the busiest in Latin America — and a major export hub for cocaine.
The deployment is part of a government’s broader plan that includes increasing the number of federal police forces in Rio, improving cooperation between law enforcement entities and boosting investment in state-of-the-art technology for intelligence gathering.
State and federal authorities have said in recent weeks they want to “suffocate” militias by going after their financial resources.
Rio’s public security problems go back decades, and any federal crackdown on organized crime needs to be supported by a far-reaching plan, the fruits of which might only be seen years from now, according to Rafael Alcadipani, a public security analyst and professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university in Sao Paulo.
“The federal government is being rushed into this due to previous lack of action,” said Alcadipani. “The government is trying, but the chance of this not working is huge ... This is an emergency plan, something being done last minute as though it were a problem that arose just now, but it isn’t.”
Brazil’s Justice Minister Flávio Dino said the measures announced Wednesday are part of a plan being developed since Lula took office on Jan. 1, and the result of months of consultations with police forces, local officials and public security experts.
The latest wave of unrest in Rio began Oct. 5, when assassins killed three doctors in a beachside bar, mistaking one of them for a member of a militia. The city’s powerful militias emerged in the 1990s and were originally made up mainly of former police officers, firefighters and military men who wanted to combat lawlessness in their neighborhoods. They charged residents for protection and other services, but more recently moved into drug trafficking themselves.
There has since been increased pressure for the state and federal governments in Brazil to come up with a plan and demonstrate they have a handle on public security in the postcard city.
On Oct. 9, days after the doctors were killed, Rio state government deployed hundreds of police officers to three of the city’s sprawling, low-income neighborhoods.
And on Oct. 23, Rio’s police killed Matheus da Silva Rezende, known as Faustão, nephew of a militia’s leader and a member himself. In a clear show of defiance, criminals went about setting fire to at least 35 buses.
On Wednesday, federal police in Rio said it had arrested another militia leader and key militia members in Rio das Pedras and Barra da Tijuca, both in Rio state. They also seized several luxurious, bullet-resistant cars, a property and cash.
____
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Summer I Turned Pretty's Gavin Casalegno Marries Girlfriend Cheyanne Casalegno
- Powerball winning numbers for July 20 drawing: Jackpot now worth $102 million
- What can you give a dog for pain? Expert explains safe pain meds (not Ibuprofen)
- Billy Joel on the 'magic' and 'crazy crowds' of Madison Square Garden ahead of final show
- IAT Community Introduce
- Yordan Alvarez hits for cycle, but Seattle Mariners move into tie with Houston Astros
- Designer Hayley Paige reintroduces herself after regaining name and social media accounts after lengthy legal battle
- Obama says Democrats in uncharted waters after Biden withdraws
- Veterans face challenges starting small businesses but there are plenty of resources to help
- No one hurt when CSX locomotive derails and strikes residential garage in Niagara Falls
Ranking
- Blake Snell free agent rumors: Best fits for two-time Cy Young winner
- Proof Real Housewives of New Jersey's Season 14 Finale Will Change Everything
- Travis Kelce’s Training Camp Look Is a Nod to Early Days of Taylor Swift Romance
- Bernice Johnson Reagon, whose powerful voice helped propel the Civil Rights Movement, has died
- The Bachelorette's Desiree Hartsock Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Siegfried
- ACC commissioner promises to fight ‘for as long as it takes’ amid legal battles with Clemson, FSU
- Bella Thorne Slams Ozempic Trend For Harming Her Body Image
- Inter Miami stars Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez won’t play in MLS All-Star Game due to injury
Recommendation
-
Man who stole and laundered roughly $1B in bitcoin is sentenced to 5 years in prison
-
Pilot living her dream killed in crash after skydivers jump from plane near Niagara Falls
-
No one hurt when CSX locomotive derails and strikes residential garage in Niagara Falls
-
Erectile dysfunction can be caused by many factors. These are the most common ones.
-
The USDA is testing raw milk for the avian flu. Is raw milk safe?
-
'A brave act': Americans react to President Biden's historic decision
-
Bernice Johnson Reagon, whose powerful voice helped propel the Civil Rights Movement, has died
-
The Best Flowy Clothes That Won’t Stick to Your Body in the Summer Heat