Brazilian President Lula da Silva today enacted a law to reinforce the fight against organized crime and expand the protection of public agents, following the mega-operation against the Red Command, the most lethal in the history of Rio de Janeiro.
The law, which had already been approved by the Brazilian Congress, defines conduct such as conspiracy and obstruction of actions against criminal organizations as independent crimes.
Another change is the increase in the parameters and scope of personal protection for police officers, members of the Armed Forces who operate in border regions, judicial authorities and members of the Public Ministry.
“One of the intentions of the measure is to reduce police mortality indicators, which in 2024 showed that 186 police officers were murdered, 145 military police officers, 20 criminal police officers, 15 civil police officers and experts, five municipal guards and one highway police officer”, indicated the Brazilian Government.
On Wednesday night, Lula da Silva (who on the day of the mega-operation, Tuesday, was returning from his trip to Asia) spoke for the first time about the events in two favela complexes in Rio de Janeiro.
“We cannot accept that organized crime continues to destroy families, oppress residents and spread drugs and violence throughout the cities”, highlighted Lula da Silva, in a statement, after meeting with his team to discuss the mega police operation, on Tuesday, against the Red Command, in which at least 121 people died.
Lula da Silva said he had ordered the Minister of Justice and the director general of the Federal Police to travel to Rio de Janeiro for a meeting with the governor, which resulted in the announcement of a joint task force against organized crime.
“We need coordinated work that reaches the backbone of trafficking without putting police, children and innocent families at risk”, said Lula da Silva, recalling that, in August, “the largest operation against organized crime in the country’s history was carried out, which reached the financial heart of a large gang involved in drug sales, fuel adulteration and money laundering”.
The operation that Lula da Silva refers to concerns the Primeiro Comando Capital (PCC), the most powerful criminal faction in Brazil, which has “headquarters” in São Paulo.
“With the approval of the Proposal for Amendment to the Security Constitution, which we forwarded to the National Congress, we will guarantee that the different police forces act jointly in confronting criminal factions”, he guaranteed.
The operation was carried out on Tuesday in the Penha and Alemão favela complexes, in an area where around 200,000 people live, and the clashes extended to a forested area on the hills that surround these neighborhoods.
During the operation, 113 suspects were arrested and ten teenagers were taken into police custody; 119 weapons, 14 explosive devices and tons of drugs were seized.
Members of the criminal organization used several high-caliber firearms and even ‘drones’ with bombs to confront the police and blocked, on Tuesday, several important roads in Rio de Janeiro, partially paralyzing the city.
The Police data is lower than that presented by the Public Defender’s Office of Rio de Janeiro, which reported that 132 people were killed, after residents of the affected neighborhoods were looking for missing family members and began to gather and display dozens of bodies in a square.
The post President of Brazil promulgates law to reinforce the fight against organized crime and protection of agents appeared first on Veritas News.
