NYT- 18 Dead in Wave of Violence in Rio

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By LARRY ROHTER Published: December 28, 2006 RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 28 — Heavily-armed drug gangs unleashed a wave of attacks on police stations and public roadways here early today, and at least 18 people were killed in the confrontations. Seven victims died in a single incident, a pre-dawn assault on an interstate bus bound for Säo Paulo. Survivors said that about 8 armed men stopped and boarded the bus, robbed those aboard and then set fire to the vehicle before the 28 passengers could get off. At least eight police stations and street posts were also reported to have been attacked by gangs armed with grenades and machine guns. The dead in those episodes included not only criminals and police officers involved in the shootouts, but also street vendors, pedestrians and ordinary citizens filing complaints at police stations. Confrontations between police and gangs continued throughout the day. Police squads sent into at least a dozen of the squatter slums in the hills overlooking the city met with armed resistance, and a shootout that disrupted automobile traffic on a main street in a working-class neighborhood was also reported. The attacks coincided with the start of the summer tourist season here, an important source of income. The mayor of this city of 5.5 million, Cesar Maia, promised that the violence would not interfere with the famous New Year’s celebration and fireworks display on Copacabana beach. But he did acknowledge that police units would need to be reinforced and also said he would welcome the deployment of Army troops on key roadways. Brazilian news organizations said the wave of violence is meant as a warning to the new governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral. Elected in October after a hard-hitting campaign in which crime and public insecurity were the principal issues, Mr. Cabral takes office on Monday.. “We’re going through a change of government,” including a new team that will be in charge of prisons, Roberto Precioso, the secretary of public security for the state of Rio de Janeiro, told reporters. Imprisoned gang leaders are “creating pressure in order to negotiate concessions and privileges,” he added. “They are afraid of a tougher disciplinary regimen, which they want to avoid at all costs.” But Mr. Maia and other officials said the gangs were also reacting to the presence of private “militias” in the squatter slums that are their stronghold. These militias are composed largely of off-duty police officers, who are said to be demanding payment from slum residents in return for killing or expelling gang kingpins, thus ignoring the legal constraints required when they are in uniform. Such militias “are highly pernicious to public administration,” the state director of prisons, Astério Pereira dos Santos, complained at a news conference here. He added: “The militias take control of what belonged to the traffickers, and so something heretofore unthinkable is happening: criminal factions are uniting to confront the militias.” The latest round of attacks underscored the growing problem of urban lawlessness in Brazil, which also emerged as an important issue in the October presidential election. Since May, three waves of attacks by criminal gangs in Säo Paulo, the country’s largest city, have left more than 200 people dead and resulted in the destruction of more than 350 buses and banks and police stations. Mr. Cabral told reporters this afternoon that he would not be intimidated by the attacks, said to be the worst here since 2002, when drug gangs attacked government offices and ordered the closing of businesses and schools as a show of force. He said he would strengthen local police forces and, if necessary, ask the federal government for help. “It is necessary to maintain the principle of authority and not permit intimidation,” the governor said. “There’s no point in using cheap sociology at a time like this. Felons have to be treated as felons.” What you think this????