Brazil: Seizure of Firearms Increased by 28% in 2023
U.S.-made weapons confiscated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 2024. Photo: X/ @Wargorr1
June 19, 2024 Hour: 11:41 am
The largest gun confiscations took place in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Parana, and Amazonas.
On Wednesday, the Brazilian Presidency reported that authorities seized 10,935 illegal firearms last year, 28 percent more than the number confiscated in 2022.
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Rio de Janeiro was the Brazilian state with the highest number of confiscations with 2,200 firearms seized. It was followed by the states of Parana and Amazonas, with 1,177 and 726 firearms seized, respectively.
The increase in firearm seizures is the result of stricter control and enforcement actions implemented by the Federal, Highway, Militarized, and Civil police during the administration of President Lula da Silva.
According to Rodney Silva, Director of Integrated Operations and Intelligence at the National Public Security Secretariat, the actions undertaken by the authorities aim to prevent homicides and curb organized crime activities, such as arms trafficking and drug trafficking.
During the first 16 months of Lula’s administration, authorities seized 13,340 firearms. In the first four months of 2024, the number of firearms seized reached 2,405 across the country.
Since the beginning of his term, Lula has sought to restrict civilian access to firearms in Brazil, whose sales nearly tripled during the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022). According to the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook, the number of firearms in civilian hands grew by 241 percent during the far-right politician’s term.
When the former captain came to power in 2019, Brazilian authorities had registered 197,390 firearms in civilian hands. These records increased to 673,818 firearms by June 30, 2022, six months before the end of Bolsonaro’s term.
Source: EFE
teleSUR/ JF
