A condominium from the Minha Casa Minha Vida housing programlocated in Pavuna, north of Rio de Janeiro, was dominated by members of the criminal faction Comando Vermelho (CV). According to complaints and reports presented by authorities, criminals control access to basic services and impose charges on residents to remain in their own homes.
According to the information collected, Residents started paying the faction for access to services such as gas and internet. Additionally, a fee is charged monthly fee of R$300 per apartment to stay in the condominium.
Considering the approximately 800 apartments on site, the The criminal organization’s monthly revenue can exceed R$240,000 only with the collection of housing taxes, not counting the amounts obtained through the exploitation of other services.
The Secretary of Public Security of Rio de Janeiro, Victor Cesar dos Santos, stated that the expansion of the influence of criminal factions is directly related to the absence of the State in certain regions. According to him, the model of economic exploitation currently adopted by drug traffickers is similar to that historically practiced by militia groups.
This absence of the State in these communities, in these favelas, is what causes organized crime to economically exploit these regions and obviously placing these people under their control and charging for all types of services, you know, internet, water, electricity, alternative transport, civil construction and obviously these housing complexes that were built end up being taken over by this criminal organization that charges these fees, just as the militia did in the past. Today there is not the slightest difference between the militia and the drug trafficker, because they act in the same way
Currently, the State of Rio de Janeiro has around 1,900 communities, 813 of which are in the capital of Rio de Janeiro alone. According to the secretariat, regaining control of these territories is one of the main difficulties for security forces, especially considering that approximately a quarter of Rio’s population lives in favelas.
Factions as terrorist groups
The debate about the advancement of criminal factions also occurs amid the international repercussion of the United States government’s decision to measure does not represent any type of foreign intervention in Brazil, but it can contribute to the financial fight against factions, especially through the blocking of goods and assets.
The United States’ declaration will not cause any direct intervention in Brazil. That doesn’t exist. We talk about sovereignty, but today if you imagine that the militia, that drug trafficking dominates a certain territory, this does affect our sovereignty, because they are micro-territories and territory is sovereignty
The secretary also stated that reports sent to the North American authorities indicate the presence of members of the Red Command in United States territory.
“We have already verified this, it was a report made by the Public Security Secretariat of Rio de Janeiro, sent to the American government, showing that the Red Command already has its branches in American states. And this practice, these acts that they carry out here in Brazil, if carried out there under American legislation, are considered terrorist acts.”
Beyond the security debate
The occupation of housing complexes by criminal factions has expanded the debate about the presence of the State in vulnerable areas of Rio de Janeiro. In addition to issues related to public safety, experts and authorities point out direct impacts on the population’s basic rightssuch as housing, access to essential services and freedom of movement.
From charging illegal fees to controlling basic services, The advance of factions into residential areas exposes a problem that goes beyond public safety. The dispute over these territories also reveals the spaces where the State has lost its presence — and where the population ends up paying the bill.
