American bomb-busting robots. Israeli surveillance drones. German anti-aircraft tanks.
Those are just a few
pieces of the security array in place around Brazil to protect players
and fans at the planet’s most-watched sporting event – soccer’s FIFA
World Cup – against threats both foreign and domestic. But unlike recent
competitions like the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, or the Boston
Marathon, authorities are much more focused on the fans, crooks and
citizens angry about the cost of the games than terrorists.
There is good reason for
their unease: The hundreds of thousands of foreign fans attending the
games that begin Thursday -- including nearly 100,000 Americans -- will
be parachuting into a country beset by widespread and deadly political
unrest that at its height drew 1 million people to the streets last
year, a murder rate that is among the highest in the world and a growing
drug-trafficking problem.
Brazilian authorities say they are
taking those and other threats seriously and are prepared to do whatever
it takes to keep fans and players safe during the games, which run
through July 13. At the same time, they are distributing safety pamphlets
to visitors that advise them not to walk alone at night, not to
publicly display certain possessions and not to “react, scream or argue”
if they are robbed.
In addition to high-tech
security gear and tried-and-true tactics like bomb-sniffing dog teams,
the host country is planning a show of force, deploying 100,000 law enforcement and security personnel along with 57,000 troops
to guard stadiums and neighboring hotels and airports, according to the
Brazilian government. In Rio de Janeiro alone, there will be 20,000
police and military on the streets, many of whom recently received
emergency response and counterterrorism training from the FBI, according
to a Brazilian state official.
In a sign of these
security-conscious times, the Brazilian government has spent an
estimated $855 million to keep the peace at the games, which are
expected to draw at least 500,000 foreign tourists -- including the
biggest single contingent of 80,000 to 90,000 Americans.
“This is crunch time.
It’s busy,” said Liliana Ayalde, the U.S. ambassador to Brazil. “We’re
preparing very carefully and trying to predict as much as we can so that
we can be ready for our main responsibility, which is all the fans that
are coming down from the States.”
While any large sporting
event is a tempting target for terrorists –- as attacks on the 1972
Munich Olympics by Palestinian terrorists and on the 1996 Atlanta
Olympics by a domestic terrorist demonstrated -- the World Cup is
especially hard to police. Sixty-four matches will be played at a dozen
stadiums around the sprawling South American nation over the next 31
days, and will attract approximately 3.7 million tourists – including
wealthy politicians and influential business leaders from around the
world.
But the U.S. State Department said in a report this year
that “there are no known indigenous terrorist groups operating in
Brazil. Brazil is a non-aligned country with no significant enemies and
is not targeted by any known radical groups.”
And the CIA tells NBC
News there is currently “no known Islamic threat” – considered the most
likely source of an international terrorist attack -- in Brazil, meaning
the level of concern is nowhere near what it was leading up to the
Sochi Winter Olympics.
If attacks are mounted,
U.S. counterterrorism officials say, they would more likely be aimed at
match-watching parties outside the country -- such as a pair of 2010
suicide attacks that killed more than 70 people in Kampala, Uganda,
during the World Cup final and a suicide bombing that killed three
people in Jos, Nigeria, during the UEFA Champions League Final last
month.
That leaves political
unrest over the estimated $11 billion cost of hosting the World Cup and
related economic issues afflicting Brazil’s poor and growing middle
class as the leading cause for concern among World Cup security
officials. Protests are widely expected as the tournament gets underway.
The unease has only
escalated in the wake of last year’s Confederations Cup in Brazil, when
an estimated 1 million protesters clashed with police in many cities
where World Cup matches will be held over bus fare hikes. At least eight
people were killed.
Though Brazil is arguably
the world’s most soccer-obsessed country, many protesters are frustrated
by the billions of government dollars that have gone toward stadiums
and infrastructure instead of education and health care. A recent PewResearch study
reported that 72 percent of Brazilians are unhappy with the overall
direction of the country and 61 percent believe hosting the World Cup is
bad for Brazil because it takes away funds from public services.
On alert for the 'barras bravas'
So-called soccer
hooligans – particularly among the roughly 50,000 fans from the
Brazilian team’s archrival Argentina – also are on authorities’ radar.
Reuters quoted
unidentified police officials in some of the cities where games will be
held as saying that security will be beefed up at stadiums when the
Argentine team plays, including undercover cops who will look for
troublemakers from notorious Argentine soccer fan clubs known as “barras
bravas.”
"I don't care what they
call these people. Brazilian police, in cooperation with foreign
police, will be tough in responding to anyone who comes here to commit
crimes," it quoted Andrei Rodrigues, Brazil's security chief for the
World Cup, as saying.
In addition to watching
for organized groups, authorities will try to keep a lid on street crime
and violence in a country where murder, muggings, carjackings and armed
robberies continue to be facts of daily life.
Murder and violent crime rates have been climbing sharply in advance of the games, according to numerous published reports. The Miami Herald reported
this week that Brazil has its highest homicide rate in almost three and
a half decades, with 56,000 citizens were violently killed in 2012. The
increase appears to be linked to an epidemic of crack cocaine and
cocaine use resulting from a sharp increase in drug trafficking into the
country, according to the State Department.
Robots, drones and tanks at the ready
There will be a U.S.
law enforcement presence in Brazil available to assist any Americans who
are victimized, as is common with any “mega event,” Ambassador Ayalde
said. There also will be a control center set up within the U.S. Embassy
in Brasilia that will collect information that it can disseminate to
Americans should there be a security threat.
In addition to
manpower, Brazil’s Special Secretariat of Security for Big Events has
assembled a substantial technology toolbox to help spot possible
threats.
With frustration
running high and bomb-making materials and recipes widely available,
authorities will be on the lookout for possible improvised explosives
like those detonated at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
In addition to teams of
bomb-sniffing dogs, police will use 30 bomb-detecting robots purchased
for $7.2 million last year from a Bedford, Mass., company called iRobot
to safeguard venues and other public-gathering areas.
The machines, known as “PackBots”
because they weigh 60-pounds and can be carried in a backpack, will be
used to examine and – if necessary – transport and disable suspicious
devices, said Tim Trainer, an iRobot vice president.
“It’s a dangerous world
and when dangerous situations happen, it’s much better to put a machine
in those situations than to put a human life at risk,” he said.
The remotely controlled devices,
which were deployed in Brazil during recent papal and presidential
visits, can cruise at 6 mph and have tank-like treads and flippers that
allow them to climb slopes of up to 60 degrees and navigate rugged
terrain. They also carry four cameras, a GPS system and temperature
sensors and, if equipped with a “pan disruptor,” can fire a jet of water
at up to 3,000 feet per second to deactivate explosive devices.
Brazil also purchased
34 German anti-aircraft tanks, to be used this summer at the World Cup,
as well as the Rio Olympics in 2016. The tanks are capable of shooting
down planes, helicopters and drones up to 15 miles away, according to the Brazilian newspaper O Globo.
And in the air, Brazil will employ Israeli drones to provide
surveillance above the stadium crowds. The Elbit model Hermes 900 can
reach an altitude of 30,000 feet, and is widely used by the Israeli Air
Force.
Traffic is also a
security concern, particularly in the city of Rio de Janeiro, since it
could prevent police or first responders from quickly reacting to an
incident.
In Rio, cops will monitor smart phone app
To help ease some of
the world’s worst traffic congestion in the best of times, Brazilian
security forces have partnered with the Israeli-based computer
application maker “Waze” to help drivers avoid accidents or bottlenecks.
The free, crowd-sourced tool for smart phones allows users to report
everything from accidents and roadwork to low gas prices or a heavy
police presence, so that other users can adjust their routes
accordingly. It also gives officials another way to monitor conditions
in specific areas.
Security officials in
Rio also will be monitoring the city in real time using a video wall of
80 46-inch high-definition screens, which can be switched to receive
feeds from more than 560 video cameras. It also will be integrated with
Waze’s user updates. This is the first municipal partnership for Waze,
which was purchased by Google for more than $1 billion last year.
“Simply put, it’s a
pretty amazing way for a city to leverage its existing infrastructure by
taking advantage of current technology and citizens who are willing to
better their own backyard,” said Waze spokeswoman Julie Mossler.
Despite the worries
that always accompany any event of this size, Ambassador Ayalde is
cautiously optimistic that everything will go according to plan.
“I want to be able to
talk to you after the final game, whoever becomes the champion, and be
able to say, ‘Everyone had a good time, everyone had a safe time,’” she
said.
No comments:
Post a Comment