Au-delà de l’éclat Olympique, une guerre aux drogues vicieuse fait rage à Rio

Dans l’ombre des Jeux Olympiques, une guerre à évolution lente a lieu entre les gangs de la drogue et les forces de sécurité de la nation. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

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By Simon Romero

RIO DE JANEIRO — Fans were lining up to watch an American beach volleyball duo square off against Mexico on the alluring sands of Copacabana Beach.

But across town, far from the Olympic excitement, the crackling of gun battles echoed through the colossal favelas that envelop Rio de Janeiro’s hillsides.

As soon as he heard the bullets whizzing by early on Tuesday, Richard Conceição Dias, 9, knew what to do. “I lied down on the floor, hugging my mom,” said Richard, who lives in a one-room home in the sprawling Complexo do Alemão group of favelas with his mother and his three sisters. “She told me, ‘Get away from the window, close your eyes, dream about something nice.’” Much of Rio is reveling in the excitement of the Games. Well-heeled partygoers are quaffing caipirinhas alongside supermodels and astronautsat lavish Olympic soirees hosted by sponsors like Omega, the Swiss watch maker. Thousands of soldiers are patrolling Rio’s upscale seaside districts to ease fears of muggings and other crime.

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Thumbnail: Flickr CC Geraint Rowland