Post date: Mar 03, 2013 6:38:15 PM
Brazilian soldiers and police move into a Rio slum as they look to improve security ahead of the World Cup and the Olympic games by rooting out drug gangs.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (MARCH 3, 2013) (TV BANDEIRANTES) - Brazilian police and soldiers backed by helicopters and armoured vehicles occupied Rio de Janeiro slums in the early hours of Sunday (March 3) in a bid to improve security and end the reign of drug gangs in the South American city.
The operations to "pacify" slums, in this instance those in northern Rio de Janeiro near the city's international airport, are a crucial part of Rio's preparations to host soccer's World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Summer Olympics.Sunday's operation, which began at 5:00am local time (0800GMT), involved some 1,600 soldiers and police officers backed by at least 17 tanks and helicopters.
With helicopters thudding overhead, soldiers and police began climbing the slums' winding roads just after 5:30 a.m. and declared the operation a success within 25 minutes after encountering no resistance.
A resident of the slums, who did not give his name for security reasons, told Brazil's TV Bandeirantes that he hoped the operation would reduce crime.
"I believe so, but it is very difficult to speak, people who live in the favela cannot say anything," he said.
Under a so-called "pacification" program, Rio authorities are following up invasions by handing slums over to specially trained community police and providing services such as health centres and formal electricity and TV supply. The aim is to foster social inclusion and give the city's one million or more slum residents a bigger stake in Brazil's robust economy.
"The importance of this action today is really to boost the self-esteem of the population which has been lost over the years because of crime, the presence of drugs and arms in this area. Today we are doing more than pacifying, we are performing a rescue of the people and their self-esteem," said Major Ivan Blaz, of the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE).
Once the operation was over, police raised the Brazilian flag and the flag of state of Rio de Janeiro inside the slum to show that they were now in control of the area.
Police said they made several arrests and seized weapons and drugs during Sunday's raid.