More than 3,000 police and soldiers backed by armored personnel carriers raced into Brazil's biggest slum before dawn Sunday, quickly gaining control of a shantytown ruled for decades by a heavily armed drug gang.

It was the most ambitious operation yet in an effort to increase security before Rio hosts the final matches of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. Officials are counting on those events to signal Brazil's arrival as a global economic, political and cultural power.

"We're taking back this territory for the 100,000 citizens of Rocinha, people who have needed peace," said Sergio Cabral, governor of Rio de Janeiro state.

The action in Rocinha is part of a campaign to drive the drug gangs out of the city's slums, where the traffickers often rule unchallenged. The city of Rio de Janeiro has more than 1,000 shantytowns where about one-third of its 6 million people live.

For full story:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/11/13/world/americas/AP-LT-Brazil-Rio-Violence.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Vidigal as well. Also, today's O Globo said that members of the navy are also involved in the occupation. Hey, it's not as if the Sao Paulo carries any airplanes. Except maybe a few small paper models.