Brazil: Armed police deployed to regain control of Rio de Janeiro favela from gangs

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, around 1,200 police officers were deployed to the city's slum area, Jacarezinho and its surroundings early Wednesday, marking the start of a state effort to "reclaim territory" from gangs and drug mafias. It's unclear how this programme will differ from a previous initiative along the same lines. According to Rio state Governor Cladio Castro, the operation, which began at dawn, is part of a long-term attempt to strengthen police presence and improve services in at least two favelas, Jacarezinho and Muzema. 

The Guardian reported, officers can be seen with their guns drawn gingerly entering the streets of the enormous favela, where the city's worst raid took place last May, killing 28 people and injuring numerous more, in videos released on the Rio police's official Twitter site. Police said hundreds of people had been arrested by Wednesday afternoon, but there had been no reports of violent confrontations or shootouts.

Level of violence decreased in city's Metropolitan area

The level of violence in Rio's metropolitan area has decreased. With approximately 2,000 deaths between January and November 2021, homicides were nearly 8% lower than the same period a year before, according to official figures. However, as a method of disrupting criminal groups and seeking out targets, Rio's police have historically stormed favelas and engaged in violent shootouts. For years, officers have been accused of carrying out summary executions on criminals. During the raid last May, some locals of Jacarezinho claimed to have witnessed executions.

The frequency of cases in which three or more citizens were shot dead has grown, according to the Rio-based nonprofit Fogo Cruzado's annual report for 2021, which aggregates and verifies complaints of shootings around the metropolitan zone. In Rio's metropolitan region, there were 61 similar incidents, the majority of which occurred during police operations. The idea of establishing permanent police units in Rio's favelas to improve security and combat drug trafficking is similar to a previous project known as police pacification units, or UPPs.

The ambitious effort began in 2008 with the goal of establishing a state presence inside favelas in time for the 2016 Olympics. According to the 2010 census, gangs dominate several of the favelas that house 1.7 million people in Rio's metro zone. The UPP program was initially successful in eliminating gangs and received widespread praise. However, as state finances collapsed, the costly project went too far and too fast into dozens of favelas, producing a dramatic backslide that allowed gangs to regain some control.

Image: AP