Israel Complex: the expansion across Brazil of drug traffickers who see themselves as 'soldiers of Jesus' - BBC News Brazil

BBC News

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Religious traffickers who take territory under the motto 'Jesus owns the place' impose a siege on religious diversity in favelas and suburbs — a criminal model that emerged in Rio but is spreading to other cities.

Folha de S.Paulo

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When Fluminense police officers seize cocaine bricks or bundles of marijuana during anti-trafficking operations in Rio, they may find a new brand stamping these illegal products: the Star of David. Read more (01/02/2025)

Prensa Libre

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It is not a reference to the Jewish faith, but to the belief of some Pentecostal Christians that the return of the Jews to Israel will lead to Christ’s second coming. The cartel that sells these branded drugs is the Third Pure Command, one of the most powerful criminal groups in Rio, famous both for making its opponents disappear and for its evangelical Christian fanaticism. They took control of a set of five slums in the north of the city, now …