3,000 Police Occupy Rio Slum to Prepare for World Cup and Olympic Games (Gallery)

Not your average Sunday.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Snipers sat on rooftops and police crawled through alley ways as roughly 3,000 officers and soldiers made their way through Rochina, one of the largest slums in Rio. The move, being called "Shock of Peace", was a government initiative to establish order in the slums prior to the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. The whole ordeal went without conflict, but interrupted the status quo in the favela.

According to government officials, months of planning and research made the sweep successful. They also believe that the arrest of drug lord Antonio Bonfim Lopesaided the operation, as Lopes was rumored to have ruled Rochina. However, the raid has been criticized because it was met without opposition. The governmet definitely pooled together their resources like they were going to war, but the day passed without a single shot being fired. The need to secure the area for future events is understood, but it seems like the government did entirely too much here.

[via The New York Times]

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