Brazil: Criminal Gangs Burn 35 Buses in Retaliation After Leader Was Killed; Government Sends in Helicopters To Reinforce Authorities

A criminal gang in Rio de Janeiro lashed out after one of its leaders was killed shortly after a police operation, burning 35 buses within the second-largest city in Brazil. This led authorities to deploy extra security forces and helicopters into the city.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes issued a strong rebuke against these criminal gangs and called them "idiots as well as criminals" in a scathing post on social media.

"Militia members on the west side are burning public buses paid for with public money to protest against a police operation," he wrote.

Rio Onibus, a local transport group, stated that 20 of those buses burned by the Brazilian gang were regular city buses, while five of them were part of a rapid transit line built for the 2016 Olympics. The other buses that were burned were tourist coaches.

This was all in retaliation for the killing of the nephew and right-hand man of a militia boss known as "Zinho." His death was dubbed by Rio de Janeiro state Governor Claudio Castro to the militia run by the crime boss.

"In addition to being related to the criminal (head of the militia), he acted as the paramilitary group's 'man of war,' being the main person responsible for the turf wars that terrorize residents in Rio," said the governor on Monday. There were no casualties in these acts of arson.

These criminal gangs started out as local militias set up by former and current police officers to combat drug gangs that infested the favelas. However, soon enough, these "protectors" soon turned to criminal activities themselves, according to DW.

Brazil Authorities Retaliate, Arrest 12 People in Rio de Janeiro

Soon enough, authorities hit back and managed to arrest 12 people over the arson attacks. However, six of them were subsequently released over the lack of evidence against them.

Meanwhile, as police continue hunting down and investigating the arsonists, Governor Castro stated that the city of Rio de Janeiro is now on "maximum alert" should more retaliations from the criminal gang ever happen.

According to the Associated Press, Castro has even deployed helicopters and drones in addition to additional personnel in order to keep the peace in the city.

Police Conducted Deadly Raids That Killed 44 People to Combat These Brazil Gangs

Brazil recently conducted a massive series of raids all over Rio de Janeiro state, Bahia State, and Sao Paulo state to root out these criminal gangs. These raids resulted in the deaths of around 44 people, 19 coming from Bahia and 16 coming from Sao Paolo.

France 24 noted that these raids raised a lot of eyebrows, as well as complaints from various human rights groups. Meanwhile, police claimed they received intelligence on a high-level meeting by gang leaders from the notorious group called Complexo da Penha, leading to the Rio raids.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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