Brazilian police seize 2 slums controlled by drug traffickers

The Brazilian government said Sunday that police have taken control of two slums in southern Rio de Janeiro without resistance from drug dealers. The operation ended early Sunday with the arrest of one drug dealer and the confiscation of 12 fusils and one machine gun. Jose Mariano Beltrame, security secretary from Rio de Janeiro state, said the operation's main goal was to return the area to the population. The two shantytowns, Rocinha and Vidigal, had been controlled by drug dealers for several decades. Several peacekeeping units will be deployed in the two slums to expel the drug traffickers, as Rio de Janeiro is getting ready to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. Rocinha, the largest and most notorious shantytown in the country, is located near a fancy neighborhood and considered one of the last strongholds of Rio's drug traffickers in the beach zone.