With crime rates rising before the Olympics, Brazilian soldiers patrolling Rio

A Brazilian National Force soldier at Copacabana Beach.

(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

published 5 July 2016

With body parts washing up on beaches, shootouts in hospitals, and street robberies at an 11-year high, even the mayor of Rio de Janeiro is describing the city's public security situation as "horrible, terrible."

The Summer Olympics are just one month away, and to reassure both visitors and athletes, Brazilian troops have begun patrolling Olympic venues, The Guardian reports. The federal government is giving Rio an emergency loan of $895 million, some of which will go toward paying more police officers. Olympic security will involve 85,000 personnel, and Brazil's interim president, Michel Temer, says the country has a "solid security program" to "ensure that the sporting events take place in an atmosphere of absolute peace and tranquility."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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