BRAZIL: Two thousand Brazilian soldiers prepared to take up positions on the edge of Rio de Janeiro's densely populated shantytowns yesterday in an attempt to root out criminal gangs who have imposed a reign of terror on local residents.
Operation Visibility was approved this week by President Inacio Lula da Silva after police patrols were repeatedly routed by gunmen armed with machine guns, grenades and land mines. Last week Defence Minister Mr José Viegas said troops would open a path into the shantytowns, or favelas, to ensure citizen safety, assist police under fire and disarm gangs.
On the eve of yesterday's troop deployment, however, government officials announced that the destination of the troops would remain secret and that tanks would not take up positions on the edge of the favelas, as was previously planned. The troops will now assist police, gather intelligence and launch lightning raids to uncover hidden arms and detain suspects.
The security situation has reached crisis point for favela residents imprisoned in their homes after dark as rival gangs battle for control of the drug trade, worth $10 million a month in one neighbourhood alone.
Rio's main daily newspaper, O Globo, publishes occasional "war news" from favela residents. "Intermittent shots, silence, then machine gun fire have created an infernal racket," wrote Emmanuel Alexander Baltz last week, describing a four-hour gunfire exchange.
Opinion polls indicate that two-thirds of favela residents favour the decision to move troops into their neighbourhoods although some citizens remained cautious as they recalled similar, failed efforts in previous years.
"Army troops cannot solve all the problems facing this neighbourhood," said resident Mr Paulo Vieria, gesturing at the hillside shacks which stretch upwards into Rocinha, one of the communities likely to come under army scrutiny.
The elite troops have spent several months in the jungle learning counter-insurgency and survival techniques, hunting for food, building improvised airstrips, rescuing hostages and swimming 10 miles with a backpack on.
However, the favela is a jungle of a different kind where a labyrinth of interconnected shacks shelter large gangs which operate with impunity, largely invisible to the state. Community groups have organised schools and health centres but unemployment is high and youths are easily lured by the prospect of easy money, despite the risks involved.
Army intelligence revealed last week that corrupt soldiers have been charging gang members 3,000 Reais (€900) for a training workshop in the favelas while criminals have allegedly infiltrated the armed forces to improve their combat skills. Last week Rodrigo Rodrigues da Costa, an army recruit, was arrested on suspicion of co-ordinating the distribution of weapons to gang leaders while the prize arrest in recent times, a leader known as Dende, turned out to be Marcelo Soares, a former army paratrooper who controlled the drug business in one favela.
While Brazil's constitution forbids army troops from replacing civilian authorities, the President invoked an executive privilege which allows him to call on troops when all other avenues of maintaining law and order have been exhausted.
The final straw came when armed men raided an army depot two weeks ago, stealing grenades and weapons. Military police responded by raiding the suspect gang's hideout, resulting in a shoot-out in which two gang members and one police officer were killed. The most successful police operations have taken place with the help of Disque Denuncia, a confidential hotline which led to the arrest of eight gang leaders last month.
The President acknowledged that the deployment of army troops must be accompanied by social programmes which would offer alternatives to organised crime. Each year youths aged 18 and above must present themselves for military service but only a fraction end up in uniform.
The army operation is a high-risk strategy with critics warning that the army presence may last longer than anticipated and that troops may become bogged down by internal community conflicts.