On November 10th, Rio police arrested Antonio Francisco Bomfim Lopes, alias Nem, the drug lord of Rocinha, the city's biggest slum as they get ready to take control of the area from drug traffickers, in anticipation of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.
Wednesday at dawn, about 50 men from the military police's Special Forces blocked a road leading to the Rocinha slum, controlled by drug traffickers for 30 years, to search all incoming vehicles.
All in preparation for pacification operation expected this coming weekend. Two other drug traffickers were also arrested: "Peixe" and "Coelho," the latter being the right-hand man of Nem.
Built on a steep hillside overlooking the "Marvelous City" and located between two wealthy neighborhoods, Rocinha is home to 150,000 people and is a drug trafficking bastion. Police said Rocinha will become the 19th favela to be ridden of traffickers who have been in control for the past 30 years.
Since 2008, authorities in Rio, which has one of the highest murder rates in the country, have been in a race to restore security in the city before the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics which Brazil will host.
Local press reports and some residents said police were expected to make their move Sunday. Their aim, according to the newspaper O Dia, was to "snuff out drug trafficking" before the assault by security forces backed by commandos and naval armored vehicles.
In another sign that the police assault was imminent, local drug baron Nem, on Sunday gave a farewell party and imposed a curfew on Rocinha.
Police had offered a 2,900-dollar-reward for information leading to the capture of Nem, who reportedly had to be treated at a local health clinic after he drank liquor mixed with ecstasy at Sunday's farewell party.
Endemic and chronic urban violence has long sullied the image of Rio, where more than 1.5 million people (a third of the city's population) live in 1,000 slums spread throughout the city.
But what the Brazilian population really wants is the answer for the following question: When will the corrupt policemen be arrested?
Vocabulary:
alias – vulgo
slum – favela
dawn – madrugada
the latter – o segundo (dentre dois elementos citados)
the right-hand man – o braço direito (homem de confiança)
steep hillside – encosta íngreme
wealthy neighborhooods – bairros ricos
bastion – baluarte, fortaleza
aim – objetivo
snuff out – extinguir
assault – ataque
farewell - despedida
curfew – toque de recolher
sullied – manchou, manchado (a imagem)
spread – espalhadas
throughout – por todo (a)
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