Mindful of the upcoming World Cup and the Olympics, Brazil is trying to clean up its slums. Over the past two years, authorities have set up permanent police posts in 13 of them.
The move is an effort to rid the slums of violence related to drug trafficking.
"We took from these people what has never before been taken — their territory, their safe harbor," Rio state Public Safety Director Jose Beltrame told wire services. "It’s important to arrest them, but it’s more important to take their territory."
The latest effort involved 80 federal police officers securing the perimeters of a Rio de Janeiro shantytown that has long been known as a stronghold for drug gangs.
The area was also a symbol of the gang’s ability to rule vast areas of the seaside city.
The federal police were joined by 800 military troops who used armored vehicles and assault vehicles to secure the area, a move police officials said was a sign of a “new Rio.”
"If I am here telling you this area will be pacified, it’s a sign things have changed," Roberto Sa, deputy public-safety secretary for Rio state, told a news conference.
By David Wilkening
