Brazil is on guard against potential terrorist threats, but denies terrorism is a problem in the South American country, U.S. officials said in confidential diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks. In the U.S. view, the policy is aimed at protecting Brazil’s international image and that of its Muslim and Arab communities.
The cables, intended to be confidential, were reviewed by The Associated Press after they were posted Sunday on the website of document discloser WikiLeaks, along with other cables from U.S. diplomats based in countries around the world.
“Politically, Brazil continues to deny the presence and potential threat of terrorists and terrorism in Brazil, while law enforcement and intelligence monitor and cooperate to counter the threat,” according to one of the cables, sent last December. It was not clear who wrote the dispatch.
In another cable sent in January 2008, then-U.S. Ambassador Clifford Sobel said that Brazilian Federal Police had “arrested various individuals engaged in suspected terrorism financing activity but have based their arrests on narcotics and customs charges.”
That cable did not state what kind of terrorist activities those arrested were allegedly involved in – or if the drug charges brought against them were at all related to terrorism. (more…)
Rio’s Public Security Secretary José Mariano Beltrame described the police raid on the Alemão Complex group of favelas, known as “heart of the evil,” as a success. The criminals lost not only their territory, but also a huge amount of weapons, drugs, vehicles and other possessions, he said.
“A criminal without home, without a gun, without territory, a criminal without means to trade is much less of a criminal than he was before,” he told a post-operation press conference.
The operation was by far the largest ever carried out in Rio, involving more than 2,500 officers and troops from local and federal police, the Army and the Marine Corps, plus 43 armored vehicles and nine helicopters.
Residents and neighbors supported the operation with over 2.500 phone calls identifying places controlled by the criminal gangs, and applauded and raised white flags as the troops climbed the hills.
According to Beltrame, the government’s war on the drug gangs is far from over, but taking over the Alemão favela represents a huge step towards final victory.
“We did not win the war, but we won the most important and most difficult battle,” he said. “We did not solve all the problems, there is still much to be done, but an important step has been taken.”
Police units started occupying the hills of the Alemão Complex Sunday morning after laying a three-day siege to it. They reached hilltops early afternoon, where they raised both national and municipal flags. (more…)
