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A police officer dressed in a Santa Claus costume holds a sack and cane in the Macacos favela, or slum, after arriving by police helicopter in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Dec. 20, 2012. Wearing police blue, the Santa Claus handed out gifts to young residents of the favela.
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Christophe Simon / AFP - Getty Images
Brazil police raid Rio favelas in crime crackdown
A Brazilian policeman from the Action Battalion (BAC) searches for drugs as two boys look on, in a narrow street of the Jacarezinho favela in Rio de Janeiro on October 16, 2012.
Some 1,300 heavily armed police participated in raids on Jacarezinho and another shanty town, Manguinhos, Agence France Presse reports.
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Police units invade Rio's biggest slum in a 'Shock of Peace'
In a previous PhotoBlog post Katie Cannon pointed out how pretty this area is. I’m glad that drug gangs aren’t putting up a fight. I hope the police units are well funded, and that this is just the beginning of a permanent police presence. I’m concerned that this effort might just be for show to placate those who are worried about security as Rio prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic games. It’s one thing to take ground. It’s another to keep it.
Silvia Izquierdo / AP
Brazilian armored vehicles move into Rocinha shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Nov. 13, 2011. Elite police units, backed by armored military vehicles and helicopters, invaded Rio de Janeiro's biggest slum in what experts say is the most important step yet in bringing security to Rio de Janeiro before it hosts the final matches of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. About 100,000 people live in Rocinha, the biggest drug distribution point in Rio.
Msnbc.com news services report
One resident applauded the move. "Tell the world we're not all drug traffickers! We're working people and now they're coming to liberate us," a man yelled as police rolled by.
Marisa Costa da Silva, 54, who runs a small candy shop at the base of the slum, was less sure. "Lord knows if there will be war or peace, or even if things will be better if police take this slum," she said. "We've heard they've been abusive to slum residents in other places they've taken. I have no idea what to expect." Read more…
Luiza Castro / AFP - Getty Images
(Left) A paramilitary police helicopter flies over Rocinha on Sunday. Security forces peacefully seized control of Rio's largest shantytown in a major assault to expel drug traffickers who had been ruling the area for 30 years.
(Right) Police commandos patrol a street of the Rocinha shantytown in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
Ricardo Moraes / Reuters
A policeman patrols the Rocinha slum while a boy holds a dog at the door of his house.
Ricardo Moraes / Reuters
A woman walks with her child in Rocinha slum, Nov. 14, 2011, after police units seized control of the shantytown. Officials say that peacekeeping units will be installed to keep drug gangs out.
Police in Rio de Janeiro prepare to raid city's biggest slum
Felipe Dana / AP
A general view of the Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 12. Police in Rio de Janeiro are stepping up their presence around the city's biggest slum as they prepare to invade it Sunday as part of a program aimed at securing the Brazilian city for the 2016 Olympics.
How sad that something so lovely from afar can be rife with violence and crime.
Read more about the police raid.
Just two years ago, NBC News producer Karl Bostic reported on a growth in tourism in the Rocinha favela. Watch his report below.
Oct. 4, 2009: With a beauty few cities in the world can match, Rio de Janeiro has always been a natural draw for tourists. But as NBC's Karl Bostic reports, more visitors are looking for the Rio hidden inside its slums.