Brazil Police Raid Rio de Janeiro Organized Crime Center in Preparation for 2014 FIFA Soccer World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics
With only about two months until the World Cup, Brazilian police made their presence known in Rio de Janeiro Sunday.
Over 1,000 Brazilian police officers, along with helicopters and armored naval vehicles, took over a favela near the city's airport.
The area known as Mare is a shantytown that houses 130,000 residents and is known as being "a haven for organized crime" including drugs and gang activity. With visitors heading to the Rio de Janeiro area for the World Cup, this spot near the airport will see tens of thousands of people could passing through. Brazilians don't want the crime to continue at that time.
Police had their weapons ready, but no resistance was encountered and the early morning operation took only 15 minutes.
Thirteen people were detained Sunday, and 57 more were detained last week as authorities continue to try and eliminate violence. During the operation, police were able to seize "large quantities of drugs and weapons" hidden near the Olympic Village and a public school, according to GloboNews.
Since 2008, these "pacification" programs have been in place for the city, which will hold this year's World Cup and the 2016 Olympics as well. In total, there are Police Pacification Units in 174 different Rio favelas where 600,000 people live. Even though some have been annoyed by the police presence, Rio police insist that they are there for the safety of residents. The 2016 Olympics will be the first held in South America, and eliminating crime is crucial to the its success.