Push Admin

Brazil militias control more than half of Rio: study

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/afp/09/01/20200901-brazil-football-afp.jpg"/><figcaption>People play football at sunset at Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 9, 2014.<em> Yasuyoshi Chiba, AFP file photo</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>RIO DE JANEIRO - Armed militia groups control more than half the territory of Rio de Janeiro, installing a reign of terror in poor neighborhoods that are home to nearly 2.2 million people, according to a study published Monday.</p><p>The criminal groups run extortion rackets and often act as de facto authorities in neighborhoods that last year represented 57.5 percent of the surface area of Brazil&#x27;s second city, said a consortium including two universities, online watchdog platforms and a government anti-crime hotline.</p><p>The groups have largely overpowered drug gangs as the main criminal organizations in the 41 neighborhoods, home to 33 percent of the city&#x27;s population, said the study.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/12/05/18/cameras-drones-rio-de-janeiro-to-put-electronic-eyes-on-crime">Cameras, drones: Rio de Janeiro to put electronic eyes on crime</a></li></ul><p>A map produced by the consortium of armed groups shows the city -- known for its picturesque beaches but also its violent crime -- covered in blue dots representing militias across the west side of Rio, where the groups originated.</p><p>They are also present, with less density, on the city&#x27;s north side, where drug gangs have traditionally held sway.</p><p>&quot;The expansion of militia forces in Rio de Janeiro is striking given that they only began to organize in their current form in the 2000s,&quot; the study said.</p><p>By contrast, the city&#x27;s biggest drug gangs, from which the militias often seize power, formed between the 1970s and 1990s, it said.</p><p>Militia members are largely former police officers or other security force members.</p><p>They initially formed as neighborhood watch groups to protect residents from drug gangs.</p><p>But they soon evolved into organized crime groups themselves, controlling sectors including internet service, cable TV, transportation and most recently construction.</p><div><strong>lg/jhb/to</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/video/08/08/19/bagong-modus-ng-mga-basag-kotse-huli-sa-cctv">Bagong modus ng mga &#x27;basag-kotse&#x27;, huli sa CCTV</a></li></ul>

<p>RIO DE JANEIRO - Armed militia groups control more than half the territory of Rio de Janeiro, installing a reign of terror in poor neighborhoods that are home to nearly 2.2 million people, according to a study published Monday.<br /> </p>

RIO DE JANEIRO - Armed militia groups control more than half the territory of Rio de Janeiro, installing a reign of terror in poor neighborhoods that are home to nearly 2.2 million people, according to a study published Monday.