The Brazilian Army will remain stationed in the Complexo da Maré in Rio de Janeiro through June to prevent narco-trafficking organizations and gangs from returning to the region, the federal government said last week.
The Brazilian Army will remain stationed in the Complexo da Maré in Rio de Janeiro through June to prevent narco-trafficking organizations and gangs from returning to the region, the federal government said last week.
Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo, Defense Minister Celso Amorim and Rio de Janeiro State Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão signed an agreement to keep 2,500 Troops in the complex of favelas through June, when police officers will take over security.
Army Troops pacified the Complexo da Maré in April 2014, several months before the country hosted the World Cup. They were scheduled to leave in December, but state officials requested an extension because additional security measures were needed in the wake of recent attacks in the region against law enforcement officers.
Police officers will start replacing Army Troops on April 2, according to the government. Federal officials said the transition should be complete by June 30. By then, according to Pezão, between 1,400 and 1,500 police officers will provide security in Complexo da Maré.
“Only with the cooperation [of the Military] can we make progress in fighting crime in Rio de Janeiro,” he told reporters. “Without security in the shantytowns, we won’t have economic development and teachers and doctors won’t come to [Complexo da Maré].”
Costa Rica’s
Drug Control Police eradicated more than 870,000 marijuana plants in 2014
Costa Rica’s Drug Control Police (PCD) seized seven tons of marijuana that were ready for distribution and eradicated 872,923 marijuana plants in 2014, according to Public Security Minster Celso Gamboa.
“We have indicted a lot of people linked to drug trafficking, but marijuana and cocaine seizures made by PCD officers this year place Costa Rica at the forefront of Central America in these operations,” he said. “This accomplishment must be measured by the benefits they bring to our country, by the amount of drugs that we have prevented from being consumed and by all the drug-related problems we avoided.”
Costa Rican law enforcement authorities confiscated $13 million from narco-traffickers and broke up 124 national and international criminal organizations in 2014. As of December 16, they had seized more than 26 metric tons of cocaine – a record amount for one year and up from 21.8 metric tons seized in 2013. Overall, the number of Costa Ricans involved in narco-trafficking appears to be decreasing, Gamboa said.
Mexico and the U.S. cooperate to fight drug trafficking
With cooperation from the Mexican government, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently sanctioned four Mexicans accused of supplying cocaine to the Sinaloa Cartel.
In late December, 2014, OFAC named César
Gastelum Serrano and three of his brothers – Alfredo, Jaime and Guadalupe Candelario Gastelum Serrano – as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act).
César
allegedly uses his complex criminal network to traffic tons of cocaine through Honduras and Guatemala into Mexico and into the hands of the Sinaloa Cartel. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Department authorities suspect César’sthree brothers assist him by coordinating the transportation of the cocaine shipments through land, sea and air routes.
“With support from his brothers, César
Gastelum Serrano has been able to establish himself as one of the most prolific cocaine suppliers for Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel,” OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin said.
In 2009, U.S. law enforcement officials designated the Mexican transnational criminal organization a significant foreign narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act, which gives them the authority to freeze all U.S.-based assets of designated drug traffickers. More than 1,600 individuals and entities have been designated under the law since June 2000. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil fines of up to $1.075 million to more severe criminal penalties, which include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5 million for corporate officers.
The Brazilian Army will remain stationed in the Complexo da Maré in Rio de Janeiro through June to prevent narco-trafficking organizations and gangs from returning to the region, the federal government said last week.
Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo, Defense Minister Celso Amorim and Rio de Janeiro State Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão signed an agreement to keep 2,500 Troops in the complex of favelas through June, when police officers will take over security.
Army Troops pacified the Complexo da Maré in April 2014, several months before the country hosted the World Cup. They were scheduled to leave in December, but state officials requested an extension because additional security measures were needed in the wake of recent attacks in the region against law enforcement officers.
Police officers will start replacing Army Troops on April 2, according to the government. Federal officials said the transition should be complete by June 30. By then, according to Pezão, between 1,400 and 1,500 police officers will provide security in Complexo da Maré.
“Only with the cooperation [of the Military] can we make progress in fighting crime in Rio de Janeiro,” he told reporters. “Without security in the shantytowns, we won’t have economic development and teachers and doctors won’t come to [Complexo da Maré].”
Costa Rica’s
Drug Control Police eradicated more than 870,000 marijuana plants in 2014
Costa Rica’s Drug Control Police (PCD) seized seven tons of marijuana that were ready for distribution and eradicated 872,923 marijuana plants in 2014, according to Public Security Minster Celso Gamboa.
“We have indicted a lot of people linked to drug trafficking, but marijuana and cocaine seizures made by PCD officers this year place Costa Rica at the forefront of Central America in these operations,” he said. “This accomplishment must be measured by the benefits they bring to our country, by the amount of drugs that we have prevented from being consumed and by all the drug-related problems we avoided.”
Costa Rican law enforcement authorities confiscated $13 million from narco-traffickers and broke up 124 national and international criminal organizations in 2014. As of December 16, they had seized more than 26 metric tons of cocaine – a record amount for one year and up from 21.8 metric tons seized in 2013. Overall, the number of Costa Ricans involved in narco-trafficking appears to be decreasing, Gamboa said.
Mexico and the U.S. cooperate to fight drug trafficking
With cooperation from the Mexican government, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently sanctioned four Mexicans accused of supplying cocaine to the Sinaloa Cartel.
In late December, 2014, OFAC named César
Gastelum Serrano and three of his brothers – Alfredo, Jaime and Guadalupe Candelario Gastelum Serrano – as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act).
César
allegedly uses his complex criminal network to traffic tons of cocaine through Honduras and Guatemala into Mexico and into the hands of the Sinaloa Cartel. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Department authorities suspect César’sthree brothers assist him by coordinating the transportation of the cocaine shipments through land, sea and air routes.
“With support from his brothers, César
Gastelum Serrano has been able to establish himself as one of the most prolific cocaine suppliers for Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel,” OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin said.
In 2009, U.S. law enforcement officials designated the Mexican transnational criminal organization a significant foreign narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act, which gives them the authority to freeze all U.S.-based assets of designated drug traffickers. More than 1,600 individuals and entities have been designated under the law since June 2000. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil fines of up to $1.075 million to more severe criminal penalties, which include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5 million for corporate officers.
Excellent report. They only forgot to mention that the Brazilian Navy also supports the pacification of the Maré Complex by using the Marine Corps.