International

Booming gun ownership triggers fears for Brazil vote

AFP | by Eugenia LOGIURATTO

Wearing a black T-shirt stamped with the word “Bolsonaro” and a skull, Brazilian ex-cop Elitusalem Gomes Freitas takes aim with his .40-caliber rifle and fires, savoring the smell of gunpowder as he nails his target.

Clutching his bulky black rifle at a firing range in the Rio de Janeiro suburbs, a handgun strapped to his thigh, Freitas proudly repeats one of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s maxims: “An armed populace will never be enslaved.”

Freitas is part of a demographic that has boomed in Bolsonaro’s Brazil: since the former army captain became president in 2019, the number of registered gun owners has more than quintupled, from 117,000 to 673,000, as the administration has loosened gun-control laws.

There are now more civilian gun owners in Brazil than police — 406,384.

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That is making some Brazilians nervous as the country heads for a divisive presidential election on October 2 pitting Bolsonaro against his leftist nemesis, ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), who leads in the polls.

Citing fears of election violence, the Supreme Court temporarily suspended several of Bolsonaro’s gun-control rollbacks last week. The week before, the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) banned voters from bringing guns to polling stations.

Like Bolsonaro, Freitas is no fan of the electoral authority, which the president accuses of allowing what he insists — without evidence — is rampant fraud in Brazil’s electronic voting system.

After inspecting the white silhouette target he has just filled with holes, Freitas, 42, explains he is ready to take up arms if necessary to defend Brazil’s “freedom.”

“I can’t allow half a dozen people (the TSE’s judges) to decide our nation’s destiny against the people’s will. The right to bear arms is how we guarantee our freedom and defend our sovereignty against the internal enemy,” he says.

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But he adds there is nothing to fear from Brazil’s burgeoning class of firearm owners.

“It’s not about arming everyone. It’s about giving good citizens the right to access a firearm and learn to use it.”

‘Cursed inheritance’

Security expert Bruno Langeani says hardliners ready to take up arms in the name of politics are a minority in Brazil.

But he emphasizes that “even a minority can cause huge damage if it’s radicalized,” pointing to the rioters who stormed the US Capitol last year after the election loss of ex-president Donald Trump — Bolsonaro’s political role model.

Langeani says the massive expansion of gun ownership in Brazil will be a “cursed inheritance” that could fuel violence for years to come.

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“A civilian can now buy more powerful guns than the police,” he says.

“Licensed hunters, sport shooters and collectors can in some cases own up to 60 firearms per person, including 30 assault rifles.”

There are 4.4 million firearms in civilian hands in Brazil, a country of 212 million people, according to the Brazilian Public Security Forum.

One-third of them have expired permits.

Bolsonaro points to a fall in murders as evidence his gun policies are a success: last year, the number of homicides fell by 13 percent.

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However, the number of murders with firearms increased by 24 percent, according to health ministry figures.

‘Like a shopping mall’

Around 1,000 shooting clubs — members-only firing ranges — have opened in Brazil since Bolsonaro took office, according to army figures cited by online news site UOL.

“When the government made it easier to purchase firearms, I said, ‘We have to jump on this,’” says former policeman Marcelo Costa, president of the club where Freitas practices, Mil Armas (One Thousand Firearms), which opened four years ago.

Costa operates the club with his two sons, both in their twenties and both fellow gun enthusiasts. His wife, a psychologist, is licensed by the authorities to perform the mandatory psychological evaluations of all new members.

The club, which has strict security protocols, offers lessons for members, and legal advice for those who want to obtain a gun license.

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Members can borrow or purchase weapons from the club’s vast arsenal, with prices ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 reais ($950-$3,800).

“It’s like a shopping mall. We have everything,” says Costa, who offers the option to buy guns in up to 12 installments with no interest.

International

Peruvian presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra dies in campaign road accident

Presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra, representing the Partido de los Trabajadores y Emprendedores (PTE) in Peru, died in a traffic accident while traveling to a campaign event, local authorities confirmed Sunday.

Becerra, who also served as president of the centrist political party, ranked among the lowest in opinion polls in a crowded field of more than 30 candidates competing in the presidential election scheduled for April 12.

Recent surveys place Rafael López Aliaga at the top of voter preferences.

The accident occurred near the town of Ayacucho, in southern Peru, when the vehicle carrying the candidate overturned for reasons that remain under investigation.

“The candidate Becerra has died,” Balvin Huamani, mayor of the district of Pilpichaca, told RPP radio.

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According to Huamani, he personally transported the 61-year-old candidate to a local health center, where doctors confirmed his death.

The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) expressed condolences over Becerra’s passing and wished a speedy recovery to the three people who were traveling with him and were injured in the crash.

International

Noboa intensifies anti-cartel crackdown as violence persists in Ecuador

A close ally of Washington, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has pursued a hardline security strategy against cocaine cartels for more than two years, yet homicide, disappearance and extortion rates remain high across the country.

Between Sunday night and the morning of March 31, Ecuador’s armed forces will launch a “very strong offensive” with “advisory support” from the United States, Interior Minister John Reimberg announced Tuesday.

The government has kept details of the operation confidential and has not confirmed whether U.S. troops will be deployed on Ecuadorian soil, as has occurred at times during Noboa’s administration.

As part of the security measures, residents in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and El Oro will be subject to a nightly curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time for the next two weeks.

“We are in a war,” Reimberg said, urging citizens to remain indoors. “Do not take risks. Stay home and allow the security forces and our allies to do the work that must be done.”

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Although Ecuador does not produce cocaine, it has become a major departure point for drugs heading to the United States. Meanwhile, the violence associated with trafficking has increasingly affected the local population.

Bordering the world’s largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has gone from being considered a relatively peaceful country to recording one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America—52 killings per 100,000 inhabitants—according to the **Observatory of Organized Crime.

International

Peruvian presidential candidate proposes death penalty amid crime surge

Peru is facing an unprecedented surge in crime ahead of its presidential election scheduled for April 12, with violence fueled by extortion networks and a wave of contract killings linked to organized crime.

Police data show that 2,200 homicides tied to organized crime were recorded in 2025, while extortion complaints increased by 19%, underscoring the growing security crisis in the South American nation.

Amid this backdrop, presidential candidate Álvarez has proposed reinstating the death penalty if elected, arguing that extreme measures are needed to curb the violence.

To implement the proposal, Álvarez said Peru would withdraw from the American Convention on Human Rights—also known as the Pact of San José—which the country signed in 1978. The agreement prevents member states that have abolished capital punishment from reinstating it.

Currently, Peruvian law only allows the death penalty in cases of treason during wartime.

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“We have to leave the Pact of San José and apply the death penalty in Peru because those miserable criminals don’t deserve to live,” Álvarez told AFP during a campaign stop at a market in Callao, the port city neighboring Lima.

“An iron fist against those criminals,” he added, proposing to declare hitmen as military targets.

During the campaign event, Álvarez walked through stalls selling vegetables, groceries, and fish, greeting vendors while musicians played cumbia music nearby.

The 62-year-old candidate, who spent more than four decades working in television as a comedian, is a newcomer to politics and is running for president under the País para Todos party.

Polls place him fifth in voter preference with nearly 4% support in a fragmented race featuring 36 candidates.