In Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro mafia-like organisations known as “the militia” have become even more feared for their violence and control of the city than its notorious drug gangs.
They are reportedly comprised of former policemen, firefighters and soldiers who started out wanting to protect their neighbourhoods, but have amassed enormous influence along the way – and have now gone rogue.
Brazil is the largest country in both South America and Latin America.
Its capital is Brasília, and its most populous city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states and the Federal District. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas, as well as the most populous Roman Catholic-majority country.
Its Amazon basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to diverse wildlife, a variety of ecological systems, and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats. Brazil is classified as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country.