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Thirteen dead in clashes between police and gangs in Brazilian Amazon city

Thirteen people have actually died in gang violence in the past 4 days in Porto Velho, the capital of Rondonia state in the Brazilian Amazon, where gang members have encountered cops, raising issues about the growing power of gangs in the area.

8 individuals were killed in attacks by criminal gangs and another five died in clashes with the authorities considering that Tuesday morning, according to Rondonia's security department.

Lawbreakers set fire to 20 buses, most of them coming from schools, likely to object police retaliation. The attacks triggered authorities to limit the hours when public transportation is offered and designate authorities escorts to city buses.

The crisis led the federal government to send national public security force troops to Rondonia to help the state police include the wave of violence for at least 90 days.

Porto Velho police claim that the attacks are a retaliation by the Comando Vermelho criminal faction against cops operations in a real estate complex that the gang controls in the city, according to G1 news website.

Though the Comando Vermelho was created in the state of Rio de Janeiro, countless miles away, it has actually ended up being one of the most powerful gang in the Amazon area in recent years.

A current report by Brazilian Public Security Forum, a think tank, revealed criminal offense rates are rising fast in the Amazon, home of the world's largest rain forest. In 2023, the region registered 34 homicides for every 100,000 individuals, nearly two times the nationwide rate.

While Brazil's Amazon area has for decades dealt with conflicts over land as farms expanded into the forest, the more recent violence is connected to disagreements among gangs to manage key drug trade routes that link drug producers to consumers, said Renato Sergio de Lima, the think tank's. president.

Rondonia borders Bolivia, an essential cocaine manufacturer, and has. recently end up being a key drug trade path, cops examinations. program. In the last years, police seized 20 lots of drug in. the state, among the largest volumes in the nation.

The Amazon is a perfect environment for criminal offense. The gangs. manage the territory and specify the guidelines, Lima said. Eventually, the authorities show up..

(source: Reuters)