“In Bahia, armed groups are trying to expand their control (…) and the police are trying to stop them,” the Minister of Justice said
Security in the states of Bahia (northeast) and Rio de Janeiro (southeast), which continue to be swept by a wave of violence, will be strengthened with a series of measures, the Brazilian federal government announced yesterday Monday.
In Salvador, the capital of the first state, more than 72 people were killed in armed clashes during police operations last month, according to data from the non-governmental organization Fogo Cruzado (“Crossfire”).
About ten gangs terrorize the state and law enforcement forces often go on crackdowns.
“In Bahia, armed groups are trying to extend their control (…) and the police are trying to stop them,” Justice Minister Flavio Ginou summarized during a press conference.
The federal government will allocate Sh20 million (3.6 million euros) to this state for the purchase, among other things, of vehicles and non-lethal weapons.
Mr. Ginou chided that “the use of force” by the police “has dozens of victims” in Bahia, a state ruled by the Workers’ Party (PT) of center-left President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.
Last week, the second-in-command of the Ministry of Justice, Hicardou Capelli, was criticized for saying that it is “not possible to treat organized crime that is armed with assault rifles with roses.”
The state of Rio de Janeiro, for its part, will receive 300 police officers and 50 vehicles from the National Force – which is under the Ministry of Justice – to reinforce the local police.
The measures announced are part of a broad plan by the federal government to spend 900 million hais (about 170 million euros) over three years to tackle organized crime gangs.
In Rio de Janeiro, the capital of the eponymous state, the Globo television network recorded in a favela how an open space was transformed from a gang to a training ground for urban guerrilla tactics.
Last year, the states of Bahia and Rio accounted for 43% of casualties during police operations across Brazil, with 1,464 and 1,330 deaths respectively, according to figures from the NGO Brazilian Forum for Public Security (FBSP).
Source :Skai
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