DOHA, Qatar (AP) — A top Rio de Janeiro security official says the legacy of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics will be the peace and improved services that added security is bringing to the city’s long-deprived poor neighborhoods.
Jose Mariano Beltrame, secretary for public security in Rio, said Friday at a sports and security conference in Qatar that Rio’s three-year program has broken down barriers to slums that for decades were essentially cut off from prosperous parts of the city of 6 million people.
In 2009, city officials launched a “pacification” program, in which security forces clear heavily armed gangs from slums and establish a police presence. The program aims to reduce violence in Rio before the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games and improve the lives of shantytown residents by bringing in basic services.
