Brazil gang attacks challenge Bolsonaro's security strategy

[TomSea]

Brazil gang attacks challenge Bolsonaro's security strategy
Leonardo Benassatto

FORTALEZA, Brazil (Reuters) - Criminal gangs on a rampage in northeast Brazil are posing an early security test for new far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, highlighting the challenge he faces in quelling drug-related violence and halting a record wave of murders in the country.

The state of Ceará has been rocked by five nights of attacks including a bomb that exploded under a highway, torched buses and assaults against banks and police barracks.

Security officials believe the attacks were triggered by the new state government’s plan to undercut the power of gangs by sending prisoners to whatever jails have space to take them in, ending a longstanding practice of separating them according to gang affiliation.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-violence-idUSKCN1P11YS