Brazil arrested 10 people on Thursday suspected of belonging to a poorly organised group supporting Islamic State (IS) and discussing acts of terrorism during next month’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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“We will not give these plotters any space to advance, not even a millimeter”, Brazil’s Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said on a statement published this morning on the ministry’s website.
The group appeared to have never actually met each other personally and came from ten different states across Brazil, communicating primarily through cell phone apps like WhatsApp and Telegram.
The arrest of 10 suspected Islamic State sympathizers is the first high-profile use of Brazil’s far-reaching terrorism law passed earlier this year.
Speaking at a press conference in the capital Brasilia, Moraes called them an “amateur” and “disorganised” terror cell. “Brazil was not part of the coalition against IS but, because of the upcoming Olympics and because it will receive many foreigners, Brazil has become a target”.
However, de Moraes said the threat of terrorism at the Rio Olympics, the first ever held in South America, was “very small”.
Over 100 people who have possible links to terrorist groups have been monitored by the Brazilian federal police.
She said her husband did not resist arrest and that police seized a computer and an e-book after searching their home.
Rio City Hall defends the golf course, and says the International Golf Federation recommended building a new course rather than revamping an already existing one.
Brazilian Defense Minister, Raul Jungmann, said authorities had been monitoring the group for some time. The attack has been claimed by the Islamic State group.
They also tried to obtain assault rifles from neighbouring Paraguay, but reports suggest they were unsuccessful.
But Brazil has grappled with a host of threats against the Rio Olympics, now just 15 days away.
Wood, who has studied security agencies in Brazil, says the greatest concern ahead of the Olympics is the “incredibly unstable political situation” in the country.
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Last week, General Sergio Etchegoyen, chief minister of institutional security, said the Nice attack had led the government “to revise all security measures and adopt far more rigid security” for the Games. Authorities have said they will be prepared and that some 85,000 police and soldiers will be patrolling during the competitions.
