Rio gang kills, dismembers 7 as drug war escalates
Pastor Dale Morgan
Rio gang kills, dismembers 7 as drug war escalates*
Reuters
Friday, January 26, 2007; 8:20 AM
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The mutilated bodies of seven youths, some
with their heads and legs chopped off, were found in an abandoned car in
a notorious Rio de Janeiro slum, police said on Friday.
The youths appeared to be the latest victims of a long-running drug war
that has made Rio, which depends heavily on tourism, one of the most
violent cities in the world.
Police said the victims were on their way to play soccer when armed gang
members, possibly choosing them at random, stopped the minibus they were
traveling in, dragged them from the vehicle and forced them to a nearby
shantytown.
A 17-year-old managed to escape, and was able to alert police. The rest
were tortured before being shot at point-blank range and mutilated by
their captors. Only one of the victims was over the age of 18. The
youngest victim was 14 years old.
Police believe the youths may have got caught up in a turf war between
drug gangs in the Vila do Joao and Morro do Adeus favelas, as
shantytowns are known here.
"Those two favelas are battling for control of the drug trafficking in
the region," said Jader Amaral, the police chief in charge of the area.
The killings took place as authorities scrambled to crack down on drug
gangs and rein in crime before Rio's famed Carnival festivities in
mid-February, which attract tourists from all around the globe.
Six suspected gang members and two police officers were killed in
shootouts on Wednesday and Thursday when state and federal security
forces raided the Vila Cruzeiro slum on the northern fringe of the city.
Last week, the federal government sent 500 troops from the paramilitary
National Public Security Force to Rio at the request of the state's new
Gov. Sergio Cabral, who took office on January 1 promising to crack down
on organized crime.
In all, some 6,000 troops from the national force are expected to be
deployed to Rio in the coming months to boost security when the city
hosts the Pan American Games in July.
Violent crime has long been a huge problem in large Brazilian cities
like Rio, where the poor live in hillside shantytowns overlooking ritzy
seaside apartment buildings.