Rio Mayor Cesar Maia on Monday evening prohibited the sales of alcohol at a gas station's convenience store, which was serving as an after-hours club to the athletes participating in the Pan American Games.
The store is located opposite the entrance of the Pan American Village, designed to house 5,500 athletes during the competitions.
There is a nightclub in the Village, where athletes from all the Americas can dance and party, but only up to 11 p.m. (local time), and alcohol and smoking are strictly forbidden at the spot.
The alternative for the athletes who wish to go on with the parties -- especially those who are no longer competing or who are not expected to compete on the day after -- was the 24-hour shop, where they were charged 1.80 reais (a little less than a US dollar) for a beer. At another c-store, built in the so-called "international zone" of the Village, they paid four reais (2.15 US dollars) for each can of beer.
The Mayor said that he has ordered the removal of all alcoholic beverages from the store outside the Village, a decision based on a decree signed in 1999 by the city government, which forbids liquor sale at gas stations. He added that, if the place's owners insist on selling alcohol, even for takeaway, their operation license will be annulled.
However, the local press informed on Tuesday that alcohol is still being sold at another gas station, only 150 meters away from the Village's main entrance, where athletes can also find branches of the two companies that operate snack bars in the international zone.
Maia stressed he is concerned over the safety of the athletes, who are "too exposed" by drinking and eating outside the Village's perimeter.
On Friday evening, members of the Cuban and Chilean delegations started provoking and pushing each other, until the National Security Force, one of the forces that account for public security in the Games, intervened, preventing them from fighting physically.
A witness told local press that the athletes were "visibly drunk".
On Sunday, Uruguay's men's handball team apparently celebrated the end of their participation in the tournament, in which they ranked fourth, with a "beer festival" in the Village.
Source: Xinhua
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