A wave of coordinated attacks hit several cities in Brazil: shootings at shops and car fires

It was in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in the northeast of the country. The attacks were in about six cities, including Natal, the capital.

At least six cities in northeastern Brazil registered a series of attacks that began the day before orchestrated by criminal gangs, with fires and shots against public offices, businesses and vehicles, authorities reported.

The riots occurred in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, where they spread to about twenty cities in the early hours of Tuesday.

Despite the strengthening of security, the attacks were repeated this Wednesday in at least six cities, including Natal, the state capital.

The Minister of Public Security, Flavio Dino, detailed on Twitter that “220 (federal) police officers were sent to assist the state forces,” and that this number may be increased “up to the amount deemed necessary.”

A firefighter tries to control the fire of a burning truck. Photo EFE

The attacks

Images disseminated by social networks and local media showed buses, trucks and other cars on fire, and police cars with bullet holes.

Amid the attacks, two men allegedly linked to the attacks were killed in clashes with police and two were injured, according to the g1 news site.

So far, 30 people have been arrested, according to a police balance published by g1.

The authorities of Rio Grande do Norte indicated that they work with the hypothesis that the attacks, planned from inside the prisons, are a response by criminal groups to a tightening of control measures in these state institutions.

A public service bus burned in Parnamirim, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. Photo EFE

The violence is “a reaction of the so-called organized crime to the firm and assertive measures that the government of Rio Grande do Norte has adopted in the control of the prison system to confront crime and violence,” Governor Fatima Bezerra said in an interview. Tuesday to CNN.

The prisoners demand better conditions in the prisons, such as televisions and intimate visits, said Francisco Canindé de Araújo, in an interview with UOL.

Conditions

“There is a series of rights that are not fulfilled,” he said, highlighting the case of low-risk prisoners who have not received intimate visits for five years.

According to the National Mechanism to Prevent and Combat Torture (MNPCT), a federal agency to prevent violence in prisons, denounced “inhumane and degrading” detention conditions in prisons in Rio Grande do Norte.

In particular, he pointed to cases of torture and spoiled food, according to g1.

In Brazil, some criminal groups that operate in drug trafficking are commanded by their leaders from prisons.

Riots and clashes between members of rival factions have already left dozens dead in Brazilian jails.

Fuente: AFP

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