US Arms Sales to Controversial Brazilian Police Unit: Human Rights Concerns vs Security Cooperation

The recent raids in Brazil's Rio resulted in 121 fatalities, including four police officers. (File)

Washington:

Last year, the US government authorized the sale of sniper rifles to a controversial Brazilian police unit, despite objections from the US ambassador and other diplomats who feared the weapons might be used in extrajudicial killings, according to three current and former US officials and documents reviewed by Reuters.

The Rio de Janeiro police tactical unit BOPE, which purchased these weapons, was centrally involved in last week's operation that resulted in 121 deaths, including four police officers. This raid drew criticism from human rights organizations and United Nations experts, who suggested some killings may have been unlawful.

Internal Rio police documents reveal that BOPE acquired 20 sniper rifles manufactured by Georgia-based Daniel Defense LLC in an undisclosed transaction in May 2023. The weapons weren't delivered until 2024, during ongoing discussions within the State Department regarding the appropriateness of the sale, according to both Rio police and US State Department documents.

US law typically requires government approval for weapons exports. While the Commerce Department generally issues the final license, the State Department plays a significant role in the process.

Elizabeth Bagley, then US ambassador to Brazil, opposed the deal, as did several diplomats working on human rights and law enforcement issues, according to a January 2024 State Department memo seen by Reuters. The memo describes BOPE as "among the most notorious police units in Brazil in regard to killings of civilians."

Official data compiled by the Brazilian Public Safety Forum shows Rio police—with BOPE being the most controversial unit—were responsible for 703 killings last year.

Reuters could not determine whether the US-manufactured sniper rifles were used in last week's raid.

BOPE also purchased suppressors for the rifles, produced by Wisconsin-based Griffin Armament, but the US government initially blocked their shipment, according to documents and sources. Reuters could not confirm whether the suppressors were eventually delivered, though the State Department implied they were not.

"The previous administration's disastrous foreign policies aided and abetted our hemisphere's most violent gangs," a State Department spokesperson told Reuters. "Last year, Biden's State Department denied critical defensive equipment to trusted security partners in Brazil while asking them to protect President Biden during his 2024 trip to Rio. In the interest of a safer hemisphere, we remain committed to ensuring that our partners have what they need to fight vicious criminals."

Former President Joe Biden visited Brazil in late 2024 for the G20 summit.

The approximately $150,000 purchase wasn't BOPE's first acquisition of American weapons. The unit had previously imported at least 800 US-made rifles, according to State Department documents. However, recent deadly operations involving the unit had changed some diplomats' perspectives, according to officials and documents.

One of the transaction's strongest advocates was Ricardo Pita, then the top Latin America policy staff member on the Republican-controlled House Foreign Affairs Committee, according to two US officials who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Pita now serves as a senior adviser for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the State Department. In this role, the Venezuelan-born Pita met in May with now-imprisoned former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a prominent Trump ally who has vocally supported BOPE's operations.

Daniel Defense, Griffin Armament, the Rio police, and the Rio state government did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the Commerce Department.

In mid-2024, Pita, who did not respond to a request for comment, visited a BOPE facility in Rio as part of a congressional staff delegation, the officials said. The visit concerned some diplomats, as the State Department has frequently cited Rio police in public documents for alleged human rights violations.

Later that year, Pita urged diplomats to approve the sale of suppressors accompanying the rifles, the officials added. The officials expressed surprise at Pita's persistent advocacy for the sale, given it represented a small part of his portfolio, which theoretically extended from the US-Mexico border to Patagonia.

After joining the State Department, Pita began internally inquiring about which diplomats had opposed the transaction, according to two officials.

Some State Department officials supported the sale.

Such transactions are typically approved, partly because foreign police departments often obtain weapons from alternative sources when rejected by the U.S., according to several officials familiar with similar sales processes. BOPE is also the primary Brazilian force responsible for protecting the US consulate in Rio in case of attack, the officials noted.

BOPE's operations are broadly popular among Rio residents frustrated with violent crime, including activities by heavily armed gangs. A nationwide survey by pollster AtlasIntel published Friday showed 55% of Brazilians supported the police operation, with support increasing to 62% among Rio state residents. According to official data compiled by the Brazilian Public Safety Forum, Rio police lost 55 colleagues to violent deaths last year.

Nevertheless, independent experts have frequently criticized BOPE's human rights record, and Rio police have been consistently highlighted for criticism in the State Department's annual human rights reports on Brazil.

"There was a persistent pattern of impunity for police operations (in Rio), which often resulted in significant fatalities, accusations of excessive force, extrajudicial killings, and denial of medical care for injured criminal suspects," stated the 2023 report.

A January 2024 State Department memo recommending against the weapons sale noted the unit's involvement in the killing of 23 individuals during a single incident in 2022. That event—known as the "Vila Cruzeiro massacre"—influenced some diplomats to oppose approving the sale, although BOPE had previously received US arms, one official said.

There were also concerns that weapons intended for fighting crime might be used for criminal purposes, the official added. State prosecutors brought a case last year against some BOPE officers for their connections to organized criminal groups called "militias," which operate extortion rackets throughout the city.