‘Welcome to hell’: Violence rocks Rio a month before Olympics
Welcome to Rio de Janeiro RIO DE JANEIRO — A month before Rio de Janeiro hosts South America’s first Olympic Games, two cellphone videos have brought home the grim reality of rising violence in the city's teeming favelas — the poor communities that are home to almost a quarter of its population. In one clip, small children cower in fear in a cable-car gondola while a gun battle rages below — at 4 o'clock on a Monday afternoon. The clip hit the Internet on the same day that Mayor Eduardo Paes told CNN that the state government is doing a “terrible” job with security. By Monday night, the video was on the front page of Brazil’s biggest news site, the Globo network’s G1. That morning, police and firefighters organized a protest at Rio’s international airport over violence and unpaid salaries. “Welcome to hell,” a banner read. “Police and firefighters don’t get paid, whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe.” It was their second demonstration at the airport, which