Rampant crime hits Rio de Janeiro’s tourist sector

Armed men opened fire in the wee hours of Monday against the Gloria Hotel, one of the most traditional resorts in Rio de Janeiro, in a new violence spree that ravaged the local leisure industry, the main economic thrust of this Brazilian city.

Law enforcement agencies said the shooters fired 20 rounds from a couple of cars parked across the hotel that drilled the building’s façade. The spraying bullets wounded nobody.

”This is a strategy schemed by drug dealers. They hit well-known places just to strike attention,” said police spokesman Fredico Caldas. “We’re investigating to determine who’s behind this shooting.”

Drug smugglers –who reign in the city’s slums and skid rows- have attacked key points of Rio de Janeiro in recent weeks.

Just two weeks ago, men armed with homemade bombs attacked the five-star Le Meridien Hotel, right across from world-class Copacabana beaches, causing severe damage to the facility.

A few days later, the traffickers assailed the railroad station used by thousands of tourists every month to climb to the top of the arms-stretched Redeeming Christ, one of the city’s symbols.

In February, violent crimes committed by drug dealers forced the government to dispatch troops to patrol the streets of Rio de Janeiro during the burg’s carnival.

In separate incidents occurred in the last 24 hours, a police officer and four alleged drug smugglers were killed in shootouts in Rio de Janeiro.