Brazilian militias ( pt, Milícias), mainly in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, and some other cities of Brazil, are illegal mafia-like

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

groups made up of current and former

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

(

Civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

) officers as well as

Military Firefighters Corps In Brazil, the Military Firefighters Corps ( pt, Corpo De Bombeiros Militar) are military public security forces, responsible for civil defense, firefighting and search and rescue inside the federative units. Since 1915, it has been a military res ...

officers, criminals, politicians, and

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

officers, operating also as a regular mafia by trade extortion and political influence. Militias carry out both

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

and

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

activities. In the

favelas Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...

, drug gangs like

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and Red Command control trafficking and violence networks, openly selling drugs and carrying weapons as well as acting as the de facto authorities, building infrastructure and enforcing their own brand of law and order. These police-backed

militias A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

historically force out the drug traffickers in order to set up their own protection rackets, extorting residents and taxing basic services.

History

The militias have their roots in the death squads of the

Brazilian military dictatorship The military dictatorship in Brazil ( pt, ditadura militar) was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against President João Goulart. The Brazilian dict ...

in 1964. They emerged in the late 2000s, being made up of off-duty police officers with assistance from local businessmen who need protection from armed gangs. Thanks to close ties to the official police force, the militias often enjoy the support of local politicians. In 2006, the drug trafficking network

Comando Vermelho Comando Vermelho (, ''Red Command'' or ''Red Commando''), also known as C.V. is a Brazilian criminal organization engaged primarily in drug trafficking, arms trafficking, protection racketeering, kidnappings-for-ransom, armored truck hijacking ...

started a

conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

against the militias.

Politicians

Cesar Maia, Rio de Janeiro's mayor from 1993-97 and from 2001-09 supported the rise of militias; in his words, militias were "community self-defense" and "an evil better than drug gangs". In 2008, a group of journalists in disguise documenting the militia's actions were kidnapped and tortured by a militia. The journalists were held for seven hours before being freed without any harm. Although the identities of the journalists remain secret (with the exception of the photojournalist Nilton Claudinho), two politicians have been accused of orchestrating the kidnapping: and his son Dr. Jairinho . Even in 2008, innumerable civilians have been killed by militias trying to incriminate local drug dealers and trying to enforce the political candidacy of Carminha Jerominho. In 2008, the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the militias was installed in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro, chaired by

state deputy Established by the Constitution of Brazil, the State Senate is the State's representative body. The members are elected through the proportional system, by taking into account the joining affiliation (political party or coalition of parties), as a ...

Marcelo Freixo Marcelo Ribeiro Freixo () is a Brazilian politician and teacher. He is a Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), federal deputy for the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), and was formerly chairman of the Defence of Human Rights and Citizenship Commission on t ...

. Several politicians were summoned to testify before this CPI, being accused of involvement with militia members, including councillors/candidates for councilor Nadinho de Rio das Pedras, Cristiano Girão, Deco and Doen, as well as deputy Marina Maggessi and deputy and former security secretary

Marcelo Itagiba Marcelo Zaturansky Nogueira Itagiba (born 20 March 1956) is a Brazilian politician. Itagiba was the Brazilian Federal Police superintendent, secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant ...

Known leaders and members

* Edmilson Gomes Menezes, a.k.a. "Macaquinho"/''Little Monkey'' (

Incarcerated A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

) * Gerardo Alves Mascarenhas, a.k.a. "O Pirata"/''The Pirate'' (

) * Thiago Amorim de Queiroz, a.k.a. "Ratão"/''Big Rat'' (

) * Willians Tavares Mendonça da Silva, a.k.a. "Dengudo" (

) * João Paulo de Castro Pereira, a.k.a. "JP da Carobinha" (

) * Matheus da Conceição Santos, a.k.a. "Caveirinha"/''Little Skull'' (

) * Sérgio Rodrigues da Costa Silva

In popular culture

* Corrupt police and militias are the main antagonists in the 2010 film '' Elite Squad: The Enemy Within''. * The Crachá Preto, a fictional far-right paramilitary group with ties to the police, are the secondary antagonists in the 2012 video game ''

Max Payne 3 ''Max Payne 3'' is a 2012 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on May 15, 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; a Microsoft Windows port was released on May 29, 2012, followed by an OS X p ...

''.

References

{{Authority control Police brutality in Brazil Far-right politics in Brazil Corruption in Brazil Organized crime groups in Brazil Vigilantes Terrorism in Brazil Anti-communism in Brazil 1980s establishments in Brazil

History

Politicians

Known leaders and members

In popular culture

See also

References