Brazilian Forces Claim Victory in Gang Haven
RIO DE JANEIRO - In a quick and decisive military operation, Brazilian security forces took control of this city’s most notorious slum on Sunday, celebrating victory over drug gangs after a weeklong battle.
In the early afternoon, the military police raised the flags of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro atop a building on the highest hill in the Alemão shantytown complex, providing a rare moment of happiness and celebration in a decades-long battle to rid this city’s violent slums of drug gangs.
An air of calm and relief swept through the neighborhood, as residents opened their windows and began walking the streets. Dozens of children ran from their houses in shorts and bikinis to jump into a swimming pool that used to belong to a gang leader. Residents congregated around televisions in bars and restaurants, cheering for the police as if they were cheering for their favorite soccer teams. “Now the community is ours,” Jovelino Ferreira, a 60-year-old pastor, said, his eyes filling with tears. “This time it will be different. We have to have faith. Many people who didn’t deserve have suffered here.”
http://www.nytimes.com, consulta em 28/11/2010
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