Shasta Darlington of CNN is reporting that Brazilian police raided two slum areas (favelas) in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend in an effort to gain some control over the crime-ridden areas. Police say that five drug dealers were killed on Saturday, while there were no reports of injuries or deaths on Sunday. Police officers used tanks and more than 2,000 troops to move through Jacarezinho and Manguinhos, arresting dozens of people and seizing automatic weapons, guns and grenades in the process.
Darlington writes:
“Police have already taken over about 30 favelas since they began operations in 2008, but it’s an uphill battle. About one-fifth of Rio’s residents live in the city’s 1,000 shantytowns, many of them perched on steep hills overlooking beachside condominiums.
Jacarezinho and Manguinhos are smaller favelas, far from tourist hotspots, but they became centers for organized crime and drug dealing after other slums were taken over by police.”
The raids are part of the police’s goal of securing 40 slums before the World Cup in 2014 and continuing that security through the 2016 Olympic Games.
Read more at CNN.
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