Temer authorizes sending Federal Police intelligence to Ceará
President Michel Temer authorized this Tuesday (Jan. 30) sending a task force from the Federal Police intelligence team to the northeastern state of Ceará. The team will assist the military and civil police officers in the state, which dealt with violent incidents recently. The measure was taken after a meeting between the governor of Ceará, Camilo Santana, and Temer at Palácio do Planalto (Brazil's Presidential Palace).
"The president was very solicitous. He consented to immediately send a task force to Ceará, with a specialized team from the Federal Police and evaluate other requests as soon as possible" said the governor in a video released by his press office.
Among other requests, the governor asked for financial support so that Ceará state can invest in security actions.
The president of Brazil's Congress, senator Eunício Oliveira, was also in the meeting. He said that "this is no time for disputes and discussions."
In statements to the press earlier this week, governor Camilo Santana said that the entry of weapons and drugs in the state is an organized crime action, which must be fought by the federal government. The speech was not well received at the Presidential Palace.
Biggest massacre in the state
The security crisis in the state deepened in the first hours of Saturday (Jan. 27), when 14 people were killed in a party in the outskirts of Fortaleza, city capital of Ceará. It was the biggest massacre ever reported in the state.
This Monday (Jan. 29), ten inmates were killed at the Itapajé Public Jail, 130 kilometers (80 miles) distant from Fortaleza. According to the Secretariat of Justice of Ceará, the killings happened during a fight between rival gangs.
Translated by Mariana Branco
