Drug War Victims in Rio

After decades of ceaseless war between police and drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro, strategies put in place by the new local government to combat the lawless situation in the most impoverished areas of the city, have received widespread criticism. Many consider that their tough stance with daily police raids is just responding to the crisis and not offering long-term solutions. During 2007 Police killed at least 1.260 people in Rio de Janeiro. The main victims of the conflict are the 1.5 million residents of Rio’s more than 500 slums, often deprived of basic services and trapped between heavily armed thugs and a brutal police.