Trouble in Copacabana

Copacabana has been a bit of a hot spot lately. Some of the drug lords from Rocinha (the largest favela in Rio, which also happens to be relatively near my neighborhood) decided to invade a favela in Copacabana called Ladeira dos Tabajaras. That obviously didn’t go over too well with the people in Ladeira dos Tabajaras, and the police got involved to try to settle the dispute. A shootout commenced in the streets of Copacabana, and five of the gang members were killed. One of my American friends lives on the street were the guys were killed, and she said she made it into the metro (synonymous with “subway” here) only ten minutes before the shooting began. That metro station is a common transfer point from bus to subway, so I’ve definitely been in that area many times. According to O Globo, the biggest Brazilian news agency, one of the stray bullets from the firefight entered a home in Humaitá, a completely different neighborhood about a kilometer away. The article also said that some of the gang members are hiding out in the forest in the area near Copacabana, so they haven’t been caught yet.

This incidence brings Rio’s violence closer to home for me. Usually the fighting takes place within favelas I’ve never heard of, so I usually don’t pay much attention. Copacabana, on the other hand, is located in the middle of the Zona Sul, and it is one of the most famous neighborhoods in Rio. Lots of students from PUC live there. Another newspaper headline I saw said that property values are going down in Copacabana because of the violence. I know at least one person in Copacabana has been killed by a stray bullet that entered their apartment (though the incident was unconnected to the current shootout). The streets there are also dangerous – one of my friends told me that at least 45 people have been robbed recently. Even in the middle of the day, it’s not very safe to walk around there. I’ll definitely be avoiding the area for awhile!