Armed Forces to strengthen security at key ports and airports

Brazil’s President authorises temporary militarisation of some of the country’s strategic logistical hubs to guarantee law and order amid rising crime

Smuggling illicit drugs within containers and on ships remains at high levels, as previously reported. Regrettably, seafarers continue to be incriminated in foreign jurisdictions whenever drugs are seized on ships arriving from Brazilian ports, often in the absence of any evidence of their complicity or connivance in the wrongdoing.

In addition to international drug trafficking, other drug-related crimes, such as smuggling of high-calibre weapons, kidnappings and murders, plague large cities, mainly in the Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo axis, in Southeast Brazil. This region is home to most of the domestic drug market and the main ports and airports through which cocaine is shipped abroad.

Recent daring actions of criminal organisations and militias, who fight among themselves to control and reign over large territories in metropolitan regions, mainly Rio de Janeiro, have led to an escalation of violence, resulting in a series of deadly incidents. Last week, militias set fire to at least 35 buses in the streets of Rio in response to the killing of a militiaman during a police operation.

Guarantee of Law and Order

In an attempt to curb rising crime rates, on 1 November 2023, the Brazilian President issued Decree 11,765 authorising, with immediate effect and until 3 May 2024, deployment of the Armed Forces to conduct preventive and repressive actions seeking to strengthen the fight against drug and weapons smuggling and other misconducts, in conjunction with public security bodies.

The temporary militarisation of public security will be limited to international borders, the Port of Santos (BRSSZ) and the São Paulo/Guarulhos International Aiport (GRU), in the State of São Paulo, as well as the Ports of Rio de Janeiro (BRRIO) and Itaguaí (BRSPB) and the Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport (GIG), in the State of Rio de Janeiro.

The Minister of Defence will allocate resources and assign commands for the operation, which should employ over 3,700 troops. It will also be responsible for planning and monitoring the temporary action with the Minister of Justice and Public Security.

At the same time that the Army and Air Force will be in charge of repressing crimes at the borders, the Navy will manage security in Guanabara Bay and Sepetiba Bay, in Rio de Janeiro, on Lake Itaipu, around the States of Mato Grosso do Sul and Parána, and on the accesses to the Port of Santos on the coast of São Paulo, in coordination with the Federal Police and the Federal Highway Police.

Law and Order Decree 11,765/2023 provides that the Ministries of Defence and Justice and Public Security must present, by February 2024, a joint technological update plan to improve the performance and efficiency of public security forces with jurisdiction over ports, airports and ground crossings.

New port and airport security plan

During the launch of the Law and Order ruling, the Minister of Ports and Airports highlighted that discussions with the Minister of Justice and Public Security are ongoing. They seek to create a national security plan for ports and airports permanently involving the Armed Forces and public security bodies to intensify the prevention and repression of international drug and weapons trafficking.

Among the measures under discussion are the allocation of security fund resources for investment in radars and monitoring cameras and the implementation of a Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) and a Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) in ports that lack the technology. Only the Ports of Vitória, in Espirito Santo, and Açu, in Rio de Janeiro, have VTMIS and VTS systems accredited by the maritime authority, the Brazilian Navy.

There is no set timeline for developing and implementing the proposed security plan.

Future developments

Details on the temporarily militarised security at selected ports and airports are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. As the measures will focus on the transit of people and cargo, it remains to be seen whether they will impact the ordinary operation of port facilities and ships.

Given the high profitability of international drug trafficking, growing demand and successive abundant coca harvests in the three neighbouring Andean countries that dominate global cocaine production and supply, it is likely that if the announced temporary measures take effect, criminals seek to dispatch their illegal products through alternative less guarded ports in the South and Northeast regions, as well as in the Amazon, where drug-related crimes abound.

Therefore, regardless of the port of call, shipmasters and crews visiting Brazilian ports and anchorages must take preventive measures to avert or at least minimise the risk of the ship being unwittingly contaminated with drugs.

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