Brazil: cities in Rio Grande do Norte have another night of attacks and reduced circulation of public transportation

The Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte (RN) dawned this Thursday (16) with new records of attacks, even with the security reinforcement of 100 agents of the National Force.

According to local media records, at least five more cities were targeted by criminal actions, setting public buildings, businesses, and vehicles on fire.

The Secretariat of Public Safety of the state registered, until Wednesday afternoon (15), confirmed attacks in 17 cities, although residents pointed out acts in 28 municipalities.

The capital, Natal, operates partially public transportation, with a reduced fleet of buses circulating with the support of the Military Police and the Municipal Guard.

The metropolitan trains are not running because of the criminal attacks “due to the attack suffered in one of the stations and the obstacles placed on the railroad last night,” CBTU (Brazilian Urban Trains Company) said in a statement.

Since the beginning of the attacks on Monday (13), security forces have arrested 57 people and seized 15 firearms, 46 explosive devices, and 10 gallons of gasoline, as well as drugs, money, and ammunition.

On Wednesday (15), Minister of Justice Flávio Dino decreed penitentiary intervention in the state and sent a reinforcement of penal agents for the state prison system.

“We will reach 220 members, including the National Force commander in Rio Grande Norte. The National Secretary of Public Security is also going there this week. And I have spoken with the governor [Fátima Bezerra, PT] twice or thrice daily. If it is necessary to deploy 400, 500, 600, 800 police officers, we will deploy them to support Rio Grande Norte,” the minister told CNN Brasil on Wednesday night (15).

The police are still investigating who the perpetrators of the attacks are.

The suspicion is that they are retaliation by drug-trafficking criminal organizations after police operations carried out last week.

One of the alleged leaders of the attacks was transferred on Tuesday (14) to the Federal Penitentiary System.

With information from Gazeta do Povo