Mafias run by rogue police officers are terrorising Rio
President Jair Bolsonaro is turning a blind eye
LATE LAST year mysterious trucks started dumping industrial waste at a precolonial archaeological site in Duque de Caxias, an industrial city of 900,000 people some 24km (15 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro. Environmental activists thought they knew who was behind it. Over the past decade, their battle to protect local nature reserves and the poor people who live near them has become a battle against criminal groups known as militias.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Shadow state”
From the June 1st 2019 edition
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