INCREASED OVERNIGHT VIOLENCE IN SAO PAULO LIKELY DUE TO

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000761

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR DS/IP/WHA, DS/ICI/PII, DS/DSS/OSAC, WHA/BSC
NSC FOR CRONIN
DEA FOR OEL/DESANTIS AND NIRL/LEHRER
DEPT ALSO FOR WHA/PDA, DRL/PHD, INL, DS/IP/WHA, DS/DSS/ITA
BRASILIA FOR RSO AND LEGAT; RIO DE JANEIRO FOR RSO
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCRM SOCI SNAR ASEC BR
SUBJECT: INCREASED OVERNIGHT VIOLENCE IN SAO PAULO LIKELY DUE TO
GANG LEADER ARREST

REF: Sao Paulo 751 and Previous


1. Sao Paulo's slow burn of violence directed against prison and
police officials by the organized criminal gang PCC over the past
weeks flared during the early morning hours of July 12.
Reminiscent of the beginning of the violence unleashed on Sao Paulo
and neighboring cities in mid-May by the PCC, though on a much
smaller scale, when civilians as well as police were targeted, six
persons were killed, police stations attacked, and buses and bank
facilities burned. Traffic and business operations throughout the
city, however, were mostly unaffected. This new wave of violence
seems to have been sparked by the arrest earlier that same night of
Emivaldo Silva Santos (known by the nickname BH),thought to be the
"general" of the PCC in the ABC district of Sao Paulo (southeastern
industrial suburbs) down to the coastal cities of Santos and
Guaruja. The violence could also be in response to discussion of a
possible government plan to isolate incarcerated PCC leaders in the
new maximum security federal prison in Cantanduvas, Parana.


2. News sources reported up to 53 targets and 48 attacks as of 1:30
pm. The following is the tally of the overnight/morning violence:

-- Six dead: a military policeman and his sister were killed at his
house in the northern part of the city; three private security
guards were killed in separate incidents in the coastal city of
Guaruja; and a prison guard's 24 year-old son, an aspiring
professional soccer player, was gunned down.

-- At least nine police/Municipal Guard facilities were attacked
throughout the greater metro area, usually drive-by shootings.

-- At least 16 buses were burned in locations scattered throughout
the greater metro area and Santos.

-- Seven bank agencies were burned (damaged by Molotov cocktails),
often in ATM areas.

-- Two supermarkets, closed at the time, were attacked and burned, a
new tactic for the PCC. Criminals left notes on supermarket doors
denouncing "prison oppression."

-- Two used car dealerships were broken into and heavily damaged,
another new tactic perhaps used to divert police attention.


3. Comment: Local authorities have no indication whether the
violence will continue at the current level, grow, or subside. Post
is monitoring the situation closely and will continue to report. End
Comment.

MCMULLEN