The Rio de Janeiro Military Police announced on Monday (24) an open-ended occupation of the neighborhoods of Vigário Geral, Parada de Lucas and Cordovil, in the city's North Zone, an area known as the Complexo de Israel ("Israel Complex"). The information was reported by Folha de S.Paulo and confirmed by G1.
Territory controlled by the TCP
The territory is controlled by the Terceiro Comando Puro (TCP), or Pure Third Command, the main rival of the Comando Vermelho (Red Command), two of Brazil's largest drug-trafficking factions. According to Folha, the area earned the nickname Complexo de Israel because of the dominance style of trafficker Álvaro Malaquias Santa Rosa, known as Peixão ("Big Fish"). Investigations indicate the group persecutes Afro-Brazilian religions within its territory and uses Israeli symbols, such as the country's flag and names from the Old Testament.
Also according to Folha, four people were arrested on Monday in a police operation aimed at curbing the TCP's activities in the area, which is marked by vehicle and cargo theft. The action also targeted the group's religious intolerance. The faction fought back: two trucks were set on fire and both directions of Avenida Brasil, Rio's main expressway, were closed. Officers seized two rifles, two grenades, drugs and a radio transmitter.
How the occupation will work
The occupation began on Monday afternoon. In a statement, the Military Police said the goal is to "restore the population's sense of security." According to the force, the region has been the target of criminal actions, such as the installation of barricades, the digging of trenches by drug traffickers on access roads and near homes, and episodes of religious intolerance carried out by members of criminal groups.
Officers will surround and patrol the outskirts of the Parada de Lucas, Cordovil, Pica-Pau and Cinco Bocas communities, with ambulance support. In addition to the local battalions, the operation involves the air-mobile unit, the expressway battalion and the motorcycle battalion, which will operate on roads such as Avenida Brasil and the Presidente Dutra highway.
G1 also reported that the police will occupy the Complexo de Israel for an indefinite period and that the area is dominated by the TCP. Days earlier, on Friday (21), an operation in the region found cars and barricades rigged with explosives; a bus driver was hit by a stray bullet and one man was killed in a shootout, according to G1. Police action in the area also disrupted the operation of schools and health units.