Militias reach drug trafficking, occupy half of armed groups controlled areas in Rio de Janeiro

A study to be released on Tuesday, September 13, affirms that militias have reached the influence of drug trafficking and now occupy half of the areas dominated by armed groups in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro.

Meanwhile, more than 2 million people are under the control of the Comando Vermelho (“Red Command”) drug trafficking faction.

The survey by the Fogo Cruzado Institute and the Group for the Study of New Illegalisms at the Fluminense Federal University (Geni/UFF) shows that the territorial growth of militia groups was 387% in 16 years.

With 256.28 km² or 10% of the state, the domain corresponds to almost twice the size of the city of Niterói.

The study also shows Comando Vermelho still leads the largest population dominance: 2.042 million residents.

More than 60% of the criminal faction’s expansion over the years has been in the Baixada Fluminense, where almost half of the areas controlled by armed groups are in militia hands.

From 2006 to 2008, the area occupied by armed groups was 8.7%.

Since then, the Comando Vermelho, Terceiro Comando Puro, and ADA factions have decreased their area of influence.

The historical series then signals a “potential for growth” of the militias “faster than other groups”.

More than 90% of militiamen’s expansion occurred in places not controlled by criminal factions.

“The data from the Map of Armed Groups leaves no doubt: the militias are the main culprits for this increase in areas under the control of armed groups, which is why they have become the main threat to public security in Greater Rio,” says the research.

Meanwhile, the Comando Vermelho accounts for 40.3% of the territories occupied by armed groups. Terceiro Comando Puro reaches almost 9%, and ADA, 1.1%.

The numbers are even higher in the capital: 74.2% of the area is dominated by militias. Almost 30% of the city is controlled by armed groups, of which three out of four are militia members.

The study shows that the militia is concentrated “almost exclusively” in Rio’s West Zone, followed by the North Zone. Numbers are negligible and tend to zero in the South Zone and Downtown.

The survey analyzed more than 689,933 denouncements from the Disque Denúncia hotline that mentioned militias or drug trafficking between 2006 and 2021.

With information from G1