Brigadier General Lucio Alves de Souza, head of the Operations Coordination Center of the Eastern Military Command, assessed the security operation set up in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 as successful. According to the general, no major complications were recorded.
In a press conference held this Thursday morning (21) at the Duque de Caxias Palace, in the center of Rio, the general informed that only one drone needed to be shot down, as it was flying over the Aterro do Flamengo, where the Art Museum is located. Moderna do Rio (MAM), prohibited area during the event.
The person responsible for the drone was identified and taken to give a statement. According to the general, it was just a curious person who wanted to take pictures of the event.
According to Souza, nothing changed in the security scheme for the G20 due to the attack at Praça dos Três Poderes, in Brasília, days earlier. According to him, possible acts of terrorism are already considered when planning for major events.
“I’m going to give a 10 to everyone involved in this security scheme. 10 to everyone who participated in this event, especially to Rio de Janeiro, who understood that the measures that were taken were necessary”, stated the general. “The great legacy was the integration and institutional security created among everyone”, he added.
One of the examples of this, according to him, was the episode in which Army soldiers were shot at on the Linha Amarela, near the community of Cidade de Deus, in the west zone of Rio, last Sunday (17).
At the time, soldiers from the Parachute Brigade were helping victims of a traffic accident when they were shot at. Military police were called in to provide support.
“When you have troops on the street and in a security environment in Rio de Janeiro, which we all know, it was within our scope to imagine that this could happen and it did. I see this positively and it means how this event worked in terms of integration. The shooting does not choose uniforms. In a situation like that, I wanted to be reinforced. What matters is that they (military police) went there to provide support,” he said.
G20 was attended by the Armed Forces
With the presence of the Armed Forces in Rio during the G20, security was praised by Rio residents, who even highlighted the fact of being able to walk on the streets with their cell phones on display.
The general was asked about the possibility of overt action by the Armed Forces in the state, but explained that this is currently only possible through the implementation of a Law and Order Guarantee (GLO).
“What guides us is the constitutional mission. Our mission includes the defense of the homeland and the integrity of institutions. And the guarantee of law and order is also foreseen. You need this GLO decree, which has its specificities, then I can be employed. I know that the population has this desire, but the constitution is what guides us”, he stated.
The Armed Forces operated in Rio during the G20 with 22,295 soldiers: 18,573 from the Army, 2,111 from the Navy and 1,611 from the Air Force. In total, 299 motorcycles, 799 vehicles of different types, 26 missiles, 18 boats, nine planes, eight portable anti-aircraft defense system equipment, seven helicopters, five ships, four anti-drones, four amphibious caterpillar cars and three radars were used.
The military was responsible for carrying out the following tasks:
- Security of land routes and accommodation;
- Protection of critical infrastructures;
- Escort of authorities;
- Protection of maritime and coastal areas;
- Cyber security;
- Electronic Warfare;
- Contingency force;
- Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense;
- Tactical response;
- Aerospace defense.
This content was originally published in G20 security operation was successful, says Army general on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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