This week, Brazil’s intelligence agency said it was reviewing all threats after a jihadi messaging channel called for its followers to target the Olympics, which start August 5.
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The group was monitored when it discussed the alleged plans in Internet communications, the minister said. “The person who pledged allegiance was made to believe they were part of the Islamic State”, explained Moraes. The individuals come from 10 different states across the country, and one of them is a minor. With all of this security, however, many still agree it is almost impossible to rule out the possibilities of a lone wolf attack, but Brazil has pledged that it will do all it can to crack down on terror suspects in the country.
“Brazil was really being preemptive in this case”, said Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical analysis at Stratfor, a global intelligence and advisory firm. Authorities are still looking for two other men, and have issued warrants for their arrest. – ReutersBrazilian marines take part in a security exercise ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, July 21, 2016.
Since the announcement of the event, security has been an ongoing concern. Those involved took part in a virtual group called “Defenders of Sharia’ and planned to acquire arms to commit crimes in Brazil and overseas”, the ministry said in a statement. All those arrested were in Sao Paulo and Paraná states.
A court in the state of Parana, where Curitiba is based, said there were indications that the group was planning to use weapons to achieve its aim.
An emergency meeting of the Brazilian cabinet has been called.
But Moraes reiterated that authorities are more concerned about street crime during the games than terrorism. As recent as in November a year ago, Stade de France came under attack when the French soccer team was playing a friendly against Germany.
They said: “All threats related to the Rio 2016 Games are being thoroughly cleared – in particular, those related to terrorism”. It was unclear whether those detained on Thursday have any relation with that group.
On top of this, roughly 85,000 soldiers, police officers, and security personnel will be on hand to prevent an attack, more than twice the amount present at the London games in 2012.
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Another source of concern is that southern Brazil, where some of the Arab community settled, is an area where weapons are one of many contraband products frequently smuggled across porous borders with Paraguay and Argentina. For example, Moraes says that the ISIS sympathizers were planning to take martial arts classes leading up to the attack.
