Left in the gutter...

By Sara Nelson
Last updated at 2:37 AM on 22nd October 2009

The death toll from bloody clashes in Rio de Janeiro is up to 25 after authorities found more bodies.

The newly discovered victims include a young man found dead in a supermarket cart at the entrance to a slum that saw intense gang combat over the weekend. He was shot repeatedly and showed signs of having been tortured.

Most of the victims were suspected members of drug trafficking gangs.

But a police spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that three were partygoers who had originally been labelled as presumed criminals.

A police helicopter was also downed by gunfire as gangs fought for territory, just two weeks after Rio won the 2016 Olympics. Three officers aboard died during the battle in the Morro dos Macacos (‘Monkey Hill’) slum in northern Rio.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has vowed to battle those responsible for the bloody wave of violence plaguing the city.

'We'll do anything it takes and make all necessary sacrifices so we can clean up the mess that these people are imposing on Brazil,' he told reporters in Sao Paulo.


Silva said the federal government will give emergency funding to state authorities to combat the drug gangs that control many of Rio's 1,000 slums, and will give police a bulletproof helicopter.

Around 150,000 people are believed to live amid the urban war in poverty-stricken conditions.

Silva didn't mention security preparations for the Olympics, but said Brazil knows 'it will take time to resolve the problems of the gangs, organised crime and the drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro.'

Other Brazilian officials have said the outbreak has strengthened their resolve to make Rio safer ahead of the games and before 2014, when Brazil will host the World Cup soccer tournament, with key games in Rio, the country's second-biggest city.

Rio state Governor Sergio Cabral said the president promised him $59 million in fresh funds over the next six months to fight crime.

The International Olympic Committee put aside concerns about security to award the 2016 games to Rio on October 2.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: ‘’We have confidence in their capacity to deliver a safe games in seven years.’

Silva has said that Rio has repeatedly demonstrated it can put on big events without risks to participants.

But the city’s Mayor, Eduardo Paes, admitted Rio does have a problem with violence.

'We never hid our problems during the bid process. We always told people we have problems and that we are still facing problems,' he said in London this week.

'We still have a lot to do, we have a long way to go. We are not worried about delivering a safe Games. We have a carnival every year, that's safe. We have a party on Copa Cabana every New Years' Eve that hosts two million people, that is safe.'

He insists the situation will improve by 2016, however.

'We are sure by 2016 we will deliver the Games and hopefully in a way that the city will be more peaceful and secure for all our citizens,' he added.

'We worry about security for our citizens, for our everyday lives, for the visitors that come on a regular basis. That's our challenge but things are moving forward. The violence we face in Rio will be much, much better by 2016.'

Note that he says that THE VIOLENCE WILL BE MUCH, MUCH(!) BETTER IN 2016. Now that's something to look forward to...

J.A.C.