Rio de Janeiro: The
commander of a Brazilian security force involved in preparations for the
upcoming 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro has stepped down amid reports that he
criticized President Dilma Rousseff in a message to subordinates.
Brazil's Justice Ministry said that Commander, Colonel Adilson
Moreira, resigned earlier this week. Moreira headed one of several security
forces involved in the games, the National Force for Public Security, which is
sending about 10,000 police and other law enforcement staff to Rio.
Moreira is the second high-profile official connected to the games to
exit in recent days. Brazil’s sports minister, George Hilton, resigned on
Wednesday as part of a cabinet re-shuffling linked to Rousseff’s growing
political woes. He was replaced by Ricardo Leyser, who had been overseeing much
of the Olympics preparation within the Ministry.
In the wake of the Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks, Brazilian authorities
are under pressure to tighten security for the most complex sporting event ever
hosted by it. An estimated 500,000 tourists and athletes are expected to
descend on Rio, including an estimated 200,000 Americans. Brazil has recently
staged a number of terrorism-related training exercises, some of which were overseen
by U.S. Special Forces. Around 100 Brazilian security officials have traveled
to several major sporting events over the past year, including the Super Bowl
and the Boston Marathon, to observe and shadow foreign security forces. Rio has
plenty of experience putting on big events. The city hosts roughly a million
visitors every New Year’s Eve and similar numbers of people during Carnival,
although those events don’t compare to the complexity of putting on and
securing the Olympics.
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