The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, stated on Wednesday evening that "we cannot accept that organized crime continues to destroy families, oppress residents, and spread drugs and violence throughout the cities." He emphasized the need for coordinated work that "reaches the backbone of the drug trade." The Brazilian leader referred to Operation Containment, carried out on Tuesday by the Rio de Janeiro police, which left a balance of approximately 120 dead. "With the approval of the Security PEC (Constitutional Amendment Proposal) that we sent to the National Congress, we will guarantee that the different police forces act jointly to confront criminal factions," he concluded. "I met this morning with ministers from my Government and ordered the Minister of Justice and the Director-General of the Federal Police to go to Rio to meet with the governor," wrote the head of state.
