BRASILIA, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday temporarily militarized security at some of the country’s most important ports and airports, as he seeks to tame rising crime after several deadly incidents in Rio de Janeiro state.
Those ports and airports are key logistical hubs for booming cocaine exports to Europe, while also receiving contraband like high-caliber weapons that contribute to street violence.
The situation has got particularly bad in Rio de Janeiro, where powerful drug lords, violent vigilante mafias known as “militias” and deadly cops have contributed to a highly complex security dynamic that is feeding a perception Lula is soft on crime.
Last month, three doctors who were having a late-night beer in an affluent stretch of beach in Rio were brutally murdered, allegedly after being confused for rival gangsters from a militia.
Brazil has become a key launchpad for moving cocaine to Europe, strengthening local criminal gangs and contributing to a deteriorating security situation which is being felt across South America, such as in gang-scarred Ecuador.
Lula’s decision to deploy the military reflects an about-turn by the leftist, who in an interview on Friday said he would not sign such a decree, saying he didn’t want soldiers “in the favelas, exchanging gunfire with gangsters.”
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