Rio Gringa

Falcão: Meninos do Tráfico

Falcão - Meninos do Tráfico was one of the first books I read in Portuguese, back when it was hard for me to understand the vocabulary, let alone all the slang. The book is based on a documentary made in 2006 by Brazilian rapper MV Bill about children and youth in drug trafficking in Brazil. I'd never actually seen the movie, so I was excited to find it in its entirety on YouTube. It's grim and a bit disjointed, but still very eye-opening for those unfamiliar with drug trafficking and police corruption in Brazil, and a jarring reminder to those who are. It also shows that the drug trade in Brazil extends far beyond Rio's favelas to many major cities in Brazil (though the book provides more detail about the locations). Unfortunately, the videos aren't available in English, although a lot of the dialogue has Portuguese subtitles with occasional explanations of certain slang words.

Falcão: Meninos do Tráfico

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Busted in Copacabana

One of my fellow Latin America-philes was kind enough to write a guest post about a huge Colombian drug kingpin bust in Rio. Brazil has become a major transshipment point for cocaine in the Americas, and big time dealers seem to have even lived in Brazil without much of a hassle--until recently. Joint task forces and Federal Police operations have managed to bring not one but two Colombian drug kingpins down in Brazil, the most recent one in one of Rio's most famous playgrounds.

Narco Arrested in Copacabana

One of Colombia’s most wanted drug barons was arrested while leaving his apartment on the afternoon of April 16.

The apartment wasn't a luxurious residence hidden in the hills outside Medellin or Cali. Nor was it a multimillion-dollar apartment in downtown Bogotá.

It was the intersection of Rua Hilário de Gouveia and Avenida Atlantida on Copacabana beach. A joint task force consisting of three different Brazilian anti-crime organizations and collaboration from the United States’ Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) arrested Nestor Ramon Caro Chapparo, aka “Felipe”, in one Rio's most famous neighborhoods. The US Department of State was offering up to US $5 million for Caro Chapparo’s arrest. 

It’s the second high-profile bust of a Colombian drug trafficker in one week that occurred outside of Colombia. Ramon Quintero, a suspected leader of the Norte del Valle Cartel, was arrested in a bakery in an upscale neighborhood in northern Quito, Ecuador, on April 13. Like Caro Chapparo, the US State Department was willing to pay up to US $5 million for information leading to Quintero's arrest.

However, unlike Quintero, who was a leader of one of Colombia’s most powerful cartels, authorities believe that Caro Chapparo was largely an independent trafficker, who likely used his connections with the former members of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) to facilitate the transportation of thousands of kilograms of cocaine to the United States, as well as West Africa and Europe via various points along the Brazilian coast.

The timing of Caro Capparo’s arrest occurs within the same week that a Defense Cooperation Agreement between Brasilia and Washington in “defense related matters” and “cooperation in any other military fields that may be of mutual interest to the Parties”.

Although the deal doesn’t specifically call out monitoring drug trafficking, it is likely implied. The US State Department recognizes Brazil, particularly Sao Paulo, as a cocaine export corridor for US and European bound cocaine. 

The arrest of Caro Chapparo highlights Brazil’s relevance as a port of exit for drugs bound for the US and Europe. Caro Chapparo was not the first to fall. In August 2007, Brazilian authorities arrested Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia, another Norte del Valle leader, in Aldeia da Serra in Greater Sao Paulo. Though the local market, which Veja says is dominated by Bolivian cocaine, exists in Brazil, the presence of internationally wanted suspects such as Caro Chapparo shows that it is Brazil's geographic location, not population, that attracts international drug traffickers.

At the local level, a lethal confrontation between Police and gang members in an attempted bust of a leading trafficker in Vila Alianza on April 20 that left five dead offers a chilling reminder that men like Capo Chapparo are the exception, not the rule, in drug-related arrests and attempted arrests in Brazil.

Eliot Brockner is a Rio Gringa reader. He writes at LatAmThought.

is nothing (nobody) sacred (safe)?

Apparently not.

Is Brazil turning into Colombia of the 90s?

My opinion, unfortunately, is yes. Due to the levels of urban violence, the internationalization of Brazilian drug trafficking, and the homicide rates, Brazil is beginning to look a lot like Colombia, which in the 90s had one of the highest murder rates in the world.

[For example, just this week, an Italian tourist/drug mule was caught leaving the airport in Rio with cocaine capsules in his stomach (after he fell very ill), and three journalists were captured by a militia group, made up of former and even current policemen who sell protection in favelas, in the Zona Oeste of Rio. The journalists were accused of being (honest?) police and were tortured for nearly eight hours before being released on the condition that they keep their mouths shut.]

In recent years, Colombian politicians, in particular in the major cities, have had great success in lowering crime and homicide rates and in pacifying the situation.

In Medellin, the mayor has invested a lot of money in public transportation, connecting the slums to the rest of the city, as well as in public works like libraries and museums. Medellin is no longer the constant bloodbath it once was.

The former Security Minister of the capital city of Bogota, Hugo Acero, explained his success in reducing the homicide rate by 70%. Here is his advice for Brazil:

• invest in social development projects
• invest in the police, by upgrading vehicles, communication systems, and training
• put police permanently in slums that previously had no government entity present
• urbanize and modernize the slums, by paving roads, installing street lights, and building schools and health clinics
• install an alcohol curfew at 1am, which can eventually be extended
• guarantee a minimum sentence for certain crimes, to ensure criminals are incarcerated for a longer period of time
• police invasions of slums and killing drug traffickers is inefficient since new and worse leaders will rise quickly; the police need to establish permanent posts in the favelas and establish a constant presence, to replace the rule of drug lords
• try not to make the mistake of separating social and repressive measures to combat crime
• avoid lack of coordination between the civil, military, and federal police
• in Colombia, for every 10 policemen accused of corruption, only 1 woman is accused of similar crimes. The solution? Integrate more women into the police force, since women are statistically less corrupt and more disciplined. (now, 15% of the Colombian police force is made up of women)

The question is, is anyone listening?

burro

Burro: a donkey (Portuguese and Spanish)
Burro: stupid (adj) (Portuguese)
Burro: trying to smuggle R$4 million worth of drugs, including 41,000 ecstasy tablets, 17,600 LSD tablets, and 310 grams of "skunk" marijuana in YOUR SUITCASE coming from Holland to Rio. (International common sense)

A young Carioca man, age 26, is going to hopefully go to jail for a very long time. Above all, for being so incredibly BURRO.

Drug Trafficking updates

I just found this article that is a good summary of Rio's violence and current problems with poverty and inequality, whose hypothesis is that Rio is a "microcosm of the future," since most world cities already have huge slums that continue to grow, and whose problems continue to grow, and that many countries will face the same problems as Rio: greater inequality, violence, drug trafficking, and social disintegration. The article says that other countries can learn from Rio and its current programs and plans to reform and aid favelas. Read it here. It's weird because yesterday I was pondering that Rio is a microcosm of the world, encompassing its major problems and its major achievements all in one place.

Now in a story I meant to post earlier this week....
An update on the upper class trafficking group. Seventeen members of the group were arrested this week, who sold cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy to the upper and middle classes of Rio. Apparently, clients included famous actors, soccer players, and journalists, though their names have not been released to the press. The group earned approximately R$1 million per week by selling approximately 10 kilos of cocaine per week.

The police report that drug trafficking outside of the favelas is growing due to increases in violence, and rich drug users don't want to risk getting near them. Favelas still play a crucial role in the movement of drugs, but increasingly the sale of drugs is taking place in the richest parts of the city.

This particular group imported cocaine from Bolivia and marijuana from Paraguay which entered through Iguacu Falls and through Mato Grosso do Sul. The drugs were transported to Rio by plane and bus, principally by drug mules. The drugs were then delivered to traffickers directly in Barra and Recreio, some of the richest neighborhoods in Rio, while some drugs went to the favelas of Jacarezinho and Rocinha. Delivery of drugs to clients was organized by phone and email.

The two main traffickers, who made contacts with their suppliers abroad were arrested this week, as well as other members of the group, who were actually smoking weed when the police arrived. The police recovered marijuana and a BMW from their apartment. One of the drug mules was also arrested, a 62 year-old grandma, whose daughter and granddaughter were also arrested as suspects of being members of the trafficking group.

Operation Phoenix: Breaking up the Beira-Mar Drug Ring

I'm dedicating an entire post to a story about Operation Phonenix, an operation carried out by the Brazilian Federal Police this week. It is extremely telling not only about drugs and arms trafficking in Brazil, but about clientelism, the jail system, and organized crime.

This week the Federal Police ended a year and a half long operation by mobilizing 300 agents in several Brazilian states to apprehend members of the Beira-Mar drug ring and to seize drugs, arms, and contraband. Agents arrested 4 people in Rio, 5 in Mato Grosso do Sul, one in Parana, and one in Sao Paulo. Police recovered US$160,000 in cash, R$20,000 also in cash, expensive jewelry, and cars. Since the beginning of the operation, 30 people were arrested and 700 kilos of cocaine and 4 tons of marijuana were seized. The drugs and weapons were imported from Bolivia, Colombia, and Paraguay, and were sent to Parana state, and from there were sent on to Rio and Sao Paulo. (Many of the weapons that enter Brazil come through these routes). The Federal Police has requested that the apprehended suspects' bank accounts in Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela and Paraguay be frozen.

Other major happenings since the beginning of the operation include 3 arrests and the recovery of cocaine and marijuana in Foz do Iguacu, one arrest and drug apprehension in Brasilia, one arrest and cocaine recovered in Rio Grande do Sul, 2 arrests and lots of drugs recovered in a Rio suburb, and 5 arrests and the discovery of money, cell phones, and weapons in Paraguay.

Now, here is the catch. Fernandinho Beira-Mar, the head of the drug ring, is in jail, and has been in jail since 2001. He was apprehended in the Colombian jungle and has since been in 8 prisons, 4 of which were maximum security. He maintained his status of king of the drug ring by cell phone and jail visits with relatives and lawyers. He even commanded an attack on a rival drug gang in 2002, and expensive alcohol and food were found in his cell. The police say he made his jail cell into an office for his "business."  The people arrested yesterday had been helping him with his accounts, running the business, and communicating with him in jail. The operation was named Phoenix since Beira-Mar, like the bird, has risen from the ashes and continued to operate his business despite being in a maximum security prison.

The most important arrest this week was the arrest of Jacqueline Alcantara Morais, Mr. Beira-Mar's wife. She was living in a Rio suburb and was running the business from the outside including the sale of drugs, weapons and munitions. She married Fernandinho only 2 months ago even though they'd been together for 15 years, with a lovely little ceremony in jail. Now she's going to jail, too. Police found jewelry, US$30,000 in cash, a car, and electronics in her house alone. The picture of her in the paper shows her cramped in the back of a police car with her designer jeans, ballet flats, and huge handbag, her highlighted hair shading her face.

Police also arrested Jacqueline's sister-in-law, the wife of Fernandinho's brother. She had US$130,000 and R$20,000 stored in her house, hidden in whiskey bottle crates. Her husband was arrested en route to Paraguay to send messages from his boss. Also, in Ilha do Governador, that weird island about an hour from downtown Rio, a female lawyer was arrested on suspicion of being the drug lord's messenger.

According to the police, the Beira-Mar ring gets the best prices in negotiations for arms, drugs, and munitions and work directly with suppliers in Bolivia and Colombia. Not only do they get the best prices and the largest quantity of drugs of all the drug rings, but they also manage to purchase cocaine and marijuana of "exportation quality" to sell to other countries.

That's not all. This wasn't just a major and efficient business. It even has benefits! Traffickers were required to pay "dues" to help support the families of imprisoned traffickers, who received up to R$3000 a month. Beira-Mar also pays for all relatives to stay in the area where he's being held and for transportation to the prison for visits. And he even started paying for legal counsel for the OTHER prisoners in his penitentiary!

This certainly isn't the end of the drug ring. As you can see, it is extremely difficult to break up such a well-structured and complex organization. And so the Rio drug wars go on.