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Brazil - Favela Militias

Favela militias are paramilitary-style criminal organizations in Brazil, predominantly in Rio de Janeiro, that are primarily composed of current and former police officers, prison guards, firefighters, and soldiers. Though they initially presented themselves as a "lesser evil" to combat drug gangs, they have become violent criminal enterprises that dominate territories through extortion and intimidation.

The roots of the militias can be traced to death squads that operated during Brazil's 1964–1985 military dictatorship. In the 1990s, groups of security officials organized themselves as vigilantes to combat the violence of powerful drug gangs. The groups grew rapidly in size and power in the early 2000s, controlling much of the western part of Rio de Janeiro. Politicians allied with these groups, and institutional protection allowed them to flourish.

In the 2010s, militias expanded their criminal activities beyond extortion and political influence, heavily involving themselves in drug trafficking and other illicit economies. Militias create monopolies on essential services and goods within the territories they control, forcing residents to pay inflated prices. These services include: Cooking gas; Water and electricity; Illegal cable television and internet services, known as gatonet; and public transportation.

The groups extort protection money from local businesses, charge "taxes" on real estate transactions, and control logistics and construction. Militias exert control through threats, violence, and murder. Residents who fail to pay, disobey, or try to buy services from other vendors face deadly consequences. The groups have deep ties to government officials and corrupt police, which provides them with political protection and a high degree of impunity. Militias profit from the informal real estate market by seizing land, controlling construction, and administering parking lots. Favelas under militia control are exploited through forced payments and monopolies, leaving residents at the whim of the criminal groups. Residents face constant threats and gun violence as rival factions battle for territorial dominance. The rule of law is replaced by the militias' authority, and the abuse of power leaves residents with little recourse and a sense of powerlessness. State interventions have had little success in dismantling the militias, partly because many operations have historically targeted drug gangs instead of militia-controlled areas.

While militias exploit communities, they often fill a void left by an absent or negligent government by providing services like electricity and water. Some residents initially see them as an improvement over drug gangs, but they often replace one authoritarian force with another.

As drug trafficking factions and police engaged in their deadly cycle of violence, militias emerged as an increasingly dominant force in Rio de Janeiro's criminal landscape. By the early 2020s, militias controlled approximately sixty percent of Rio state's territory according to some estimates, imposing a parallel system of governance over millions of residents.

The militias' business model evolved beyond simple protection rackets to encompass comprehensive economic control over vast swaths of the city. They monopolized the sale of cooking gas, charging inflated prices and punishing residents who purchased from unauthorized sellers. They controlled transportation, running illegal van and bus services while extorting official operators. They dominated real estate through illegal subdivisions and land grabs. They sold internet and cable television services. They charged mandatory security fees to all residents and businesses in their territories. Those who refused to pay faced intimidation, beatings, or execution. The militias represented a state within the state, collecting taxes, enforcing rules, and maintaining order through fear.

The relationship between militias and the political establishment ran deep and complex. Current and former police officers, prison guards, firefighters, and military members filled the ranks of these paramilitary groups, bringing professional training, access to weapons from state arsenals, and inside knowledge of law enforcement operations. Political connections protected militias from serious prosecution.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro, during his time as a Rio congressman, honored several individuals later identified as militia members. His son Flavio Bolsonaro, while serving in the Rio State Assembly, maintained documented ties to militia leaders including Adriano Magalhães da Nóbrega, a former BOPE sniper suspected of heading the "Office of Crime" death squad linked to the assassination of city councilor Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes in March 2018. The murder of Franco, a outspoken critic of police violence and defender of favela rights, sent shockwaves through Brazil and symbolized the lethal consequences of challenging Rio's security apparatus and its criminal auxiliary forces.

While 2022 investigations into Jair Bolsonaro did not directly target favela militias, they created a political climate that affected militia operations and exposed their deeper ties to Brazil's power structure. Ongoing investigations have uncovered evidence of high-level political protection that historically allowed militias to expand with impunity.

The investigations and a 2022 report from The Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism highlighted the extensive links between militias and Brazilian politics, including with Bolsonaro and his allies. This reinforced public awareness that militias are not just street gangs but criminal enterprises embedded in the political system, rather than isolated groups.

Bolsonaro's political rise coincided with a period of rapid militia expansion and provided a degree of perceived protection. While no direct investigation into his administration and its effect on militias took place in 2022, probes into Bolsonaro's family and associates have repeatedly touched on their links to militia figures.

For instance, inquiries into the 2018 assassination of Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, implicated individuals with ties to Rio de Janeiro's militias. These investigations, while not focused on Bolsonaro, increased scrutiny on the network of political connections that have historically shielded militias from effective law enforcement.

The investigations into Bolsonaro and his allies increased the political risk for militias. The election defeat of Bolsonaro in October 2022 to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the subsequent investigations into the former president's actions raised the possibility of a political shift in how law enforcement might tackle organized crime. With Bolsonaro and his network under pressure, the political cover for militia activities became more uncertain, potentially destabilizing their operations and exposing them to greater risk.

The primary 2022 investigations focused on Bolsonaro's alleged attempts to undermine Brazil's democratic institutions. This attention diverted state resources and political focus away from addressing favela militias. However, the subsequent conviction of Bolsonaro strengthened the rule of law. This has created a more favorable environment for holding politically connected criminals accountable and dismantling the corrupt networks that protect militias.

Prominent political figures besides Jair Bolsonaro linked to favela militias include former Rio de Janeiro Mayor Cesar Maia, former state legislators Natalino and Jerônimo Guimarães, and other members of the Bolsonaro family. These links, some of which go back years, show how militias have long been deeply embedded in Rio's political and institutional systems.

Cesar Maia, former Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, who served multiple terms between the 1990s and 2000s, openly supported militias as a form of "community self-defense." In his view, they were a "lesser evil" than drug gangs. The Guimarães brothers, in the mid-2000s, brothers Natalino and Jerônimo Guimarães led the notorious "Liga da Justiça" (Justice League) militia. Natalino Guimarães was elected as a state legislator in 2008. Jerônimo Guimarães became a city councilman. Both were later arrested for murder, following a 2008 parliamentary inquiry that indicted over 200 individuals with suspected militia ties.

While Jair Bolsonaro had been most scrutinized for his militia ties, other members of his family have also faced investigations. Flávio Bolsonaro: While serving as a state representative, Jair's son employed the wife and mother of a fugitive police officer accused of leading a prominent militia group. Carlos Bolsonaro, Jair's son, was re-elected to the Rio de Janeiro City Council in 2020 and had long-standing ties to militia figures.

A 2008 parliamentary commission of inquiry (CPI) looked into the links between politicians and militias in Rio. Those summoned to testify included Natalino Guimarães and Jerônimo Guimarães (the Guimarães brothers). Coronel Jairo and his son, Dr. Jairinho were accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and torture of journalists who were investigating militias. Carminha Jerominho was a candidate whose political campaign was allegedly promoted by militias through intimidation and violence against voters.

A 2025 journalistic investigation mapped the influence of organized crime, including militias, in local politics by examining the candidates with suspected ties in the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) database. This practice of militias running family members for political office to protect their operations is a long-standing tactic.

Research from the Fogo Cruzado Institute and Fluminense Federal University's Study Group on New Illegalities documented significant territorial shifts among criminal organizations between 2022 and 2023. While militias experienced a nineteen percent reduction in territorial dominance, Comando Vermelho advanced with an eight percent increase. However, this statistical decline for militias masked a more dangerous reality: fragmentation. Rather than weakening, militias had split into rival factions competing violently for territories and power. New alliances formed and dissolved rapidly, creating an unpredictable landscape where shootouts, summary executions, and battles between militia groups terrorized residents.

The arms race among these groups led to increasingly lethal weaponry being deployed in residential areas. Sociologist Silvia Ramos noted that militias had begun adopting drug trafficking schemes including appointing operations managers and selling drugs, while drug traffickers conversely started exploiting service monopolies and forcing residents to purchase exclusively from them, blurring the already unclear lines between different criminal organizations.

By 2023, militia dynamics had become even more complex and deadly as the organizations fragmented and evolved. The expansion of Comando Vermelho into traditional militia territories in the West Zone triggered intense warfare throughout 2023 that saw homicides in the West Zone surge by forty-four percent compared to 2022. In September 2023 alone, seventy-five people were killed in the West Zone, more than double the deaths recorded in the same month the previous year. The conflict came to a head in October when militia members orchestrated attacks on buses, burning approximately thirty-five vehicles in retaliation for the death of a key militia leader. The charred bus shells littering the landscape between Antares and Cesarão favelas became symbols of militia power and the terror they could inflict on civilian infrastructure. The violence demonstrated that residents were caught between multiple armed forces: drug factions, militias, rival militia groups, and the police themselves.

Despite the political turbulence, militias have shown remarkable resilience. A 2024 report from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime noted that militias continued to expand their territory and control through extortion and illegal real estate even during periods of increased scrutiny. This demonstrates that their power is rooted in their criminal economy, not just in political protection.

In summary, while the 2022 investigations into Bolsonaro did not directly impact favela militias, they did create a political landscape that indirectly affected them. By revealing the extent of militia links to high-level politics, weakening Bolsonaro's protective network, and creating an environment where rule-of-law violations are being more seriously prosecuted, the investigations had a destabilizing effect that may lead to greater long-term challenges for militia operations.