AT: High crime has made Brazil’s cities unlivable, which is why many of even the poorest Brazilians flocked to elect right-wing conservative Jair Bolsonaro for president.
But his solution – which news accounts say is to just get out there and shoot the criminals – isn’t likely to work. Here’s what Bloomberg is reporting:
Teams of marksmen next year will patrol swaths of Rio de Janeiro with high-powered weapons and a license to kill, said a security adviser to Governor-elect Wilson Witzel.
As many as 120 sharpshooters will accompany police incursions into the slums of Brazil’s postcard city to exterminate gun-toting criminals, according to Flavio Pacca, a longtime associate of Witzel who the governor-elect’s press office said will join the administration. The shooters will work in pairs – one to pull the trigger, one to monitor conditions and videotape deaths.
“The protocol will be to immediately neutralize, slaughter anyone who has a rifle,” Witzel, a federal judge and former Brazilian marine, told reporters in Brasilia on Dec. 12. “Whoever has a rifle isn’t worried about other people’s lives, they’re ready to eliminate anyone who crosses their path. This is a grave problem, not just in Rio de Janeiro, but also in other states.”
So much for self-defense and Bolsonaro’s much screamed about plan to enact responsible gun ownership. more
I predict that there will soon be a lot of dead govt marksmen, but I’m not of the opinion that that would necessarily be “going wrong.”
Goose/gander. If it’s OK for govt rifle-toters to shoot non-govt rifle-toters, then it should be OK for non-govt rifle toters to shoot govt rifle toters.
While it sounds like it could be a lot of fun (for the whole family) a better solution is to arm EVERYONE.
It’s a step nearer the abyss when only the Gov’t and the (other) Criminals are armed.
izlamo delenda est …
Apparently Festivus has different rules down there.
“The protocol will be to immediately neutralize, slaughter anyone who has a rifle,” Witzel, a federal judge and former Brazilian marine, told reporters in Brasilia on Dec. 12. “
To hell with the assasins, where can we get some judges like THAT?
Good border protection. Mobile sniper towers built on semi trailers. Small living quarters and rations for a crew of 3-5, for 1-2 weeks. Extendable sniper tower. Can be deployed across the border to high traffic areas.
I remember an old (1970’s) bumper sticker, “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.”
Merry Christmas to all
Extreme violence requires extreme measures to counter it. Brazil is the murder capital of the world. I say the government needs to do this and get the criminals off the street and 6 feet underground as soon as possible.
Consenting to have the govt kill people without due process is ALWAYS a bad thing. Even WITH due process, govt screws it up and innocent people end up dead.
Brazilians would be much better off in the long run if the govt would simply repeal all gun control laws.
“Uncle Al is right, you know”.
—Morgan Freeman
Rio’s favelas are war zones controlled by violent, ruthless crime syndicates. They are not “normal” neighborhoods. This measure is specifically targeted at these outlaw neighborhoods.
Unfortunately, the likely result will be heavily armed gangs teaming up with the far Left and Islamic terrorists to destabilize the country and the region.
One of the hallmarks of el socialismo del siglo XXI in Latin America, and elsewhere, is a sharp increase in crime, particularly violent crime, because of changes in policing and judicial policies; and cozying up to terrorist organizations and regimes.