Troops to patrol northeastern Brazil state to stop gang violence
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BRASILIA - Brazil's northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte will deploy troops on the streets to quash a wave of violence unleashed by a criminal gang just days before the Olympic Games open in Rio de Janeiro, officials said on Tuesday.
Police have arrested 82 people suspected of torching dozens of buses, setting off bombs and firing shots at government buildings to oppose restrictions on gang leaders being held at the main penitentiary of Rio Grande do Norte in state capital Natal, about 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) north of Rio.
The governor authorized the deployment of 1,200 troops on the streets of Natal and other towns where violence continued into a fifth day, said a spokesman for the state's security department, Captain Christiano Couceiro.
