A number of high-profile security incidents in Rio de Janeiro have prompted Brazil’s government to announce a reinforcement of visible security officers for the Summer Olympics.
The government said in a release that the increased security measures will start July 1 for the games, which start in August. Approximately 500,000 tourists are expected to flock to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics.
Australian Paralympian Liesl Tesch had her bike robbed at gunpoint on Sunday while riding near her hotel. That same morning saw armed men storm Rio’s largest emergency public hospital to free a drug trafficking suspect, leaving one patient dead, as detailed by the Los Angeles Times.
Then on Wednesday, five were killed in a firefight with the suspect remaining at large.
The government had already planned on deploying 38,000 soldiers for the games, but now that number will rise.
“We will guarantee safety at all access ways to the Olympics, in train stations and in the airports,” Defense Minister Raul Jungmann said in a statement. “I can guarantee that Brazil will show the world a festival that is filled with joy, but also marked by tranquility.”
