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Report: Brazilian cities now 'fiefdoms'
By MICHAEL ASTOR, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 2, 8:21 PM ET

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Amnesty International said the government's inability to provide security has transformed Brazil's largest cities into a "patchwork of violent fiefdoms" controlled by drug gangs and paramilitary militias.

The London-based rights group, in a copy of report obtained by The Associated Press and scheduled for release Thursday, said government negligence has left poor Brazilians in the crossfire between police and criminals � the victims of stray bullets, police curfews and extortion by militias and drug traffickers.

"Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have reached a tragic impasse," said the report, based largely on news reports and academic studies. "Criminal gangs ... have rushed to fill the vacuum left by the state, Balkanizing the cities into a patchwork of violent fiefdoms."

Amnesty said the situation came to a head in Sao Paulo a year ago when the First Capital Command gang brought South America's largest city to a standstill, torching buses, attacking police stations and taking hostages. Police responded by killing hundreds of suspects.

More recently, drug gangs in Rio launched a wave of attacks that left 19 people dead in response to the growing power of paramilitary militias made up of former and active-duty police, firefighters and soldiers.

"The events of 2006 dramatically raised the stakes of the public security debate," the report said.

Amnesty called on federal and state governments to "develop a coherent long-term security policy that focuses on the root causes of violence and social exclusion."

Responding to the report on Wednesday, Rio state Gov. Sergio Cabral told reporters that police are making welcomed advances in areas dominated by drug gangs.

"Because of historic conditions these communities are dominated by drug traffickers who are a minority in these areas," he said. "We are acting with rigor because the communities want that."

As Latin America's largest nation prepares to host the Pan American Games in July, many Brazilians fear the violence could tarnish not only that event, but also foil the country's chance at hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

The report criticized the use by Rio police of special armored cars called "Caveiraos," or Big Skulls, against drug gangs in shantytowns, saying bystanders have been injured or killed in operations using the vehicles.

Amnesty said official statistics show that in 2006 Rio police killed more than 1,000 people. Police justify the killings as acts of self-defense.

Cabral this year requested the federal government send the army into Rio to quell violence. Officials are still working out the details.

Sao Paulo's federal and state governments did not immediately respond to the report.