Just ahead of the Olympics, Brazil is in real trouble
Brazil can be a violent place. There’s reason to be concerned ahead of the Olympic Games. In fact, there are a lot of reasons.
Terrorist Plot Uncovered
Brazil federal police arrested 10 members of a group alleged to be preparing acts of terrorism, two weeks before the Rio de Janerio Olympics.
It may have been as an Islamic State cell, according to authorities in Brazil. They have warrants out for more members now. They used wiretaps to uncover the potential plot, which showed members swearing allegiance to the Islamic State, planning and training for terrorist acts, and celebrating the recent terrorism in France and Orlando.
Security force of 85,000 on hand
Authorities are on high alert in Brazil and should be after the terrorism that’s taking place around the world right now. But Brazil always been a dangerous place.
Brazil’s finances “in ruin”
Brazil has been a controversial pick from the beginning. The threats of Zika and terrorism aren’t helping. Neither is the country’s financial situation.
With Rio state’s finances in ruin and salaries delayed, morale among police officers has fallen to its lowest ever, according to a high-ranking official in the military police who is unauthorized to speak publicly. National guard troops have had payments delayed, been working more than 12 hours a day and sleeping on mattresses on the floor at temporary housing, according to local media reports. — Bloomberg.com
Zika Virus
A significant number of athletes have pulled out of the Olympics due to concerns over the Zika virus.
“Forty-three test events have been held in multiple sports with 7,000 athletes and no cases of Zika or dengue fever have been recorded. We don’t expect any of the sports to be at risk of Zika contamination during the Games,” said Leonardo Picciani (Brazil’s Sports Minister) in The Guardian.
Lab Controversy
The Rio lab doing the tests for doping had its accreditation suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Pollution — “Like an alien enemy entering your face”
Brazil’s beaches are spectacular… as long as you don’t mind that raw sewage is being pumped out into some of Brazil’s waterways. Gauanabara Bay is the site of Olympic races. It’s polluted. Big time. They were attempting to “de-pollute” (is that a word?) the Bay before the games and set a target of 80% depolluted. It’s now at 55%. Great.
And then there’s this: Scientists have discovered a strain of drug-resistant bacteria in the water.
“It’s a nice sailing area but every time you get some water in your face, it feels like there’s some alien enemy entering your face. I keep my nose and my lips closed.” — German Paralympic sailor Heiko Kroger to CNN
Political Unrest
Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, is facing impeachment proceedings right after the Game.
Terrorism
And then there’s the threat of terrorism. Despite the fact that there has been a history of terrorism, the country doesn’t itself have a standing unit that deals with terrorism.
This Olympics is the first one that has a dedicated counter-terrorism center. 7 countries are pooling resources along with Brazil to be on guard.
