Caveirão

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Caveirão ( Portuguese for "large skull") is a slang term for a certain armored vehicle in Brazil . This vehicle is used by special police forces of the state of Rio de Janeiro . Its official name is in Portuguese veículo Blindado de Transporte de Pessoal what "armored personnel carrier " means.

Structure of the vehicle

The Caveirão is similar to the special vehicles of the German police and the former BGS . However, the Caveirão is not a real tank , but just a support vehicle without any special additional equipment. The vehicle has neither mine protection nor a machine gun mount or even its own armament. Compared to a reconnaissance or transport tank, a Caveirão is relatively simple: A civil truck chassis from Ford only has its own body and this is partially armored. This armor provides protection against assault and machine gun fire of the calibers 7.62 × 51 mm NATO , 7.62 × 39 mm and .223 Remington . The Caveirão has loopholes-like outlets on the sides. They allow the vehicle occupants to shoot out of the protected interior. This enables, for example, a covered retreat . There is also a small, glazed tower above the crew room, which serves as a lookout.

A visual feature of the vehicles is their black paintwork. The BOPE logo is also emblazoned on the sides of the vehicles . This logo consists of two crossed pistols behind a skull that is pierced by a dagger . This is where the vehicle's nickname , Caveirão , comes from. The loudspeakers, whose noises promise that the Caveirão is approaching, are also considered to be characteristic of this vehicle .

Range of uses of the Caveirão

The main task of the Caveirão is the protected transport of police forces and other people, as well as the return transport of the wounded from danger areas. Primarily this includes the territories of organized crime as well as the action against opponents with heavy weapons and similar operations, which can no longer be dealt with by normal police patrols. Here, the support Caveirão interventions and tactical approach in the favelas called slums . The main focus there is on combating drug trafficking . These vehicles are only partially of importance for the entire police operations, as the actual operations also take place in buildings and often in the winding streets, which due to their nature and the frequent location of the favelas on mountain slopes and relatively narrow alleys are only partially accessible for many vehicles are.

Evaluation and criticism

The sense and purpose of the vehicle Caveirão and the associated police work is assessed differently by society. On the one hand, there is much to be said for the continuation and expansion of these special police operations, during which the Caveirão is mainly used to protect the law enforcement officers. On the other hand, there are advocates for an immediate abolition of said operations, because these police operations often take a very violent course and would be accompanied by various violations of human rights .

According to estimates by the Secretaria de Estado de Segurança Pública (“Secretariat of the state responsible for public security”, a kind of interior ministry ), the use of the Caveirão vehicles resulted in roughly halving the number of police officers killed in the anti-drug war.

The vehicle and the unit of the BOPE that used it gained a certain fame beyond the borders of Rio de Janeiro through various media , such as the book-based film Tropa de Elite .

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