Brazil's federal troops will arrive in Rio within a week in order to ensure the security of this October's election, Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobimsaid Thursday.
"We will be at the position in up to a week," Jobim said after a meeting with Carlos Ayres Brito, president of Brazil's Supreme Electoral Court (TSE).
In August, the TSE asked for the support of federal troops, after drug dealers and illegal militia members stopped candidates from campaigning in some parts of the city.
Gangsters also stopped journalists from entering the city's slums to report on the candidates' campaign.
The federal troops used to be deployed only on the election day. But Sergio Cabral Filho, the governor of Rio, has expressed his hope for the troops to remain for a longer period of time, even after October, due to the current situation in Rio.
According to Jobim, groups of 450 to 900 soldiers of Brazil's Armed Forces will be stationed temporarily in Rio's most critical areas.
Rio's Electoral Court will be in charge of organizing the troops. It will also define the most dangerous areas.
The Defense Ministry and the TSE will also decide whether the troops will be allowed to directly confront lawbreakers make any arrests.
Source:Xinhua
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