Originally published on October 9, 2013
Another pacification operation took place on Sunday (October 6) morning in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to clear drug gangs from 12 shanty town in the Lins favela complex ahead of the 2014 World Cup. The operation was carried out without incident within a matter of hours, according to The Guardian.
The complex is located within three miles (5 km) of the Maracanã World Cup final stadium.
The operation began just after daybreak with armoured personnel carriers rolling through streets. Hundreds of heavily armed troops and paramilitary police swept through neighborhoods, and will likely stay for two weeks before a more lightly armed resident force sets up base in the area.
Street cleaners followed the military operation by cleaning up roadsides and picking up garbage. According to the Rio state governor, Sergio Cabral, authorities plan to spend £140m to improve living conditions. Officials then whitewashed graffiti of Red Command symbols, and draped the Policia Military insignia over the walls. Local children, meanwhile, were invited to ride on police horses while authorities displayed bags of cocaine, cellophane-wrapped blocks of hash and gun clips they claim were found during searches. A van broadcasting appeals for support traveled through town, saying that "the new era begins now".
The pacification programme has been a controversial one, as many suspect it is merely aimed at improving the city's image before the World Cup and Olympics with no longer term plan in place. Authorities insist otherwise.
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