Brazilian security forces have occupied a Rio de Janeiro favela in a bid to remove drug gangs from the city ahead of the World Cup this summer. In a dawn raid on Sunday, police swarmed the Mare slum, ...

Brazil is a flourishing democracy and regional superpower, with a robust annual growth rate and the world’s eighth-largest economy. Yet its favelas have remained stark symbols of lawlessness, gross ...

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- About 150 special operations police officers are patrolling Brazil's biggest shantytown after a police officer was shot to death. Rio de Janeiro's police department says officer ...

The government of Brazil sent 3,000 troops into Rocinha, the hillside shanty town overlooking Rio de Janeiro, in an effort to drive out crime and violence in advance of the 2014 World Cup. They ...

RIO DE JANEIRO -- In the favela, or slum, that served as a centerpiece of Pope Francis’ pilgrimage to Brazil, there was little sign Sunday that he’d ever been there. The St. Jeronimo Emiliano church ...

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian soldiers and police exchanged gunfire with drug-gang members holed up in a massive slum complex Friday, and stood their ground, trapping the traffickers inside. About 800 ...

The 2016 Olympics are a long way off, but recurring violence has raised questions about the recent selection of Rio de Janeiro. During a shootout this weekend, 29 people were killed, including three ...

A woman sits next to a bagful of recycled aluminum cans in the Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. More than 3,000 police and soldiers raced into Brazil's biggest slum on Sunday, gaining control ...