Gang strife forces extra Carnival security
BRAZIL: Authorities in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state say security is being beefed up as the worldfamous Carnival bash begins, following a wave of violence caused by rival drug trafficking gangs.
Governor Luiz Fernando Pezao said yesterday that security forces would total more than 17,000 statewide each day. This included 2000 extra agents who were off duty and would now work during the bash.
Last year Rio used almost 12,000 policemen during Carnival, but it also counted on the help of 9000 members of the country’s armed forces.
Brazil’s most popular Carnival party starts today and ends on Wednesday.
Rio police spokesman Ivan Blaz said this time a military presence was not necessary.
‘‘This is the biggest increase Rio Carnival has seen in the number of policemen on the streets,’’ he said. ‘‘That figure is what we need to give people a safe Carnival without losing presence in the most sensitive parts of the city.’’
Pezao also promised to pay police officers more than US$20 million in delayed salaries and bring back a bonus programme that was downsized due to the state’s financial crisis.
Officers have said the police force’s low morale has been stimulating gangs to face off.
‘‘It is not easy to face what we face with an economy crisis like this in Rio,’’ Pezao said. ‘‘But now we have the money to say we can pay.’’
Rio’s security secretary Roberto Sa said police faced a warlike challenge from local gangs. In the weeks before Carnival, several key arterial roads were blocked by confrontations, and there have been many victims.
‘‘This year alone we seized 65 assault weapons, 42 policemen got injured and five died. This makes criminals feel powerful,’’ Sa said. ‘‘We cannot accept this, and we will work even more to stop them.’’
Earlier yesterday, mourners buried a boy who had been being killed during a shootout between police and suspected drug traffickers in a Rio slum.
Jeremias Moraes da Silva was walking home after playing football on Wednesday when he was struck by a stray bullet in the slum of Mare. He died shortly after being rushed to the hospital.
The same day, 3-year-old Emily Sofia Neves Marriel was shot dead during a robbery in Rio’s north zone.
On Thursday, a stray bullet wounded 4-year-old Joao Pedro Soares da Costa.
According to Rio da Paz, a group that works to reduce violence, 44 children have been killed by stray bullets in Rio de Janeiro since 2007.