Safety Measures During Olympics Deemed Success by Government
When the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge crossed the finish line to secure first place on Sunday morning (21), those responsible for safety during the Olympics glanced at each other with a sense of relief.
Even though the closing ceremony had not yet taken place, authorities felt the worst was over -the Boston marathon tragedy (2013), when three people died and 264 were injured, had served as a frame of reference from the start of the planning process.
The minister of Justice, Alexandre de Moraes, and Defense, Raul Jungmann, met with Rio's Public Safety Secretary, José Mariano Beltrame and representatives from other agencies all of Sunday night to assess the event.
Despite difficulties and failures such as the initial vagueness about who would be responsible for screening the public at the entrance to the arenas, the verdict was positive: no terrorist attack took place, and officials say the arrest of ten suspects before the Olympics were essential to this.
The closing ceremony was not considered a high risk event.
No tourist had died, which was taken as a sign that the orientation advising them to remain close to the Olympic areas worked.
The safety authorities believe these two points allow them to declare Rio 2016 a success in that department.
Also positive: the Cilvil Police's investigation of the international gang of scalpers, which led to the arrest of Irishman Patrick Hickey, member of the IOC and the five days of investigation that led to the revelation of the lie told by swimmer Ryan Lochte.
What the Minister of Defense called "the country's largest safety plan yet" -85,000 men, with 49,845 in Rio- could not, however, prevent incidents of violence in the city.
Officer Hélio Vieira, from the National Force, died after being shot by drug dealers in Vila do João, after the vehicle he was in entered the slum by mistake.
Two buses, one carrying journalists and the other the National Force, saw their windows smashed with rocks as they traveled along Transolímpica, a road that connects the neighborhoods of Deodoro and Barra da Tijuca. Three officers were injured.
Two lost bullets were found in the Olympic Park of Deodoro. The military has been having run-ins with locals since June.
At least two delegations -the Australian and the British-shared accounts involving the assault of team members, but did not provide any more details.
The same occurred with tourist: between the day the games opened (5) and Wednesday (17), 113 foreigners were victims of theft and assault, mainly in the Barra neighborhood and the south zone.
Translated by SUGHEY RAMIREZ