RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Michel Temer said Thursday that the federal intervention in Rio de Janeiro state to reduce crime is "extraordinary."
The effort was launched six months ago. "In the past three to four months, the crime fighting indicators are extraordinary," Temer told reporters after a meeting with government officials in charge of the intervention.
"I know it has been said that the popular support to the intervention fell from 74 to 66 percent, but I ask myself: which public administration sector has a 66 percent approval rate?" Temer said.
According to official statistics, in the past six months, the government deployed 92,000 people in operations against organized crime in Rio de Janeiro.
A total of 518 people were arrested and 35 people died in shootings in which federal forces participated, including three members of the military.
