State government of Maranhão asks for help against urban violence
A new contingent should be sent to Maranhão, where the National Force has already been working at the Pedrinhas Prison Complex,
Amid the atmosphere of insecurity brought about by a series of attacks against buses and private vehicles in the metropolitan region of the state capital São Luís, Maranhão Governor Roseana Sarney appealed to the Ministry of Justice for help in an attempt to strengthen the work of the National Public Security Force in the city.
The request is pending approval at the ministry. If granted, a new contingent should be sent to the state, where the National Force has already been working at the Pedrinhas Prison Complex, notorious for the number of violent riots staged by its inmates. Fatalities during such incidents have totaled 14 in 2014 alone.
Last weekend, five buses and a microbus were set ablaze in the metropolitan region of São Luís. The disturbance continued on Monday (22), when three other buses and eight cars were torched in São Luís.
In a statement, the Secretariat for Public Security of Maranhão announced that investigations are still being carried out over the attacks and that “all measures have been taken in order to ensure the security of the population.” The command which possibly initiated the attacks is suspected to have come from Pedrinhas, Maranhão’s largest penitentiary.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: State government of Maranhão asks for help against urban violence
