US embassy cable - 05BRASILIA320

UNCLAS BRASILIA 000320 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PGOV, PHUM, BR, Human Rights, TIP 
SUBJECT: JUVENILE OFFENDERS FREED DURING ASSAULT IN BRASILIA 
 
REF: BRASILIA 02919 
 
 1. Summary.  On January 30, armed men in Brasilia freed two 
teenage detainees from a vehicle and held six others hostage 
while en route to the CAJE juvenile detention center. The 
CAJE facility is often criticized for understaffing, 
overcrowding, and poor security.  End Summary. 
 
2. On the evening of January 30, a vehicle transporting six 
teenaged detainees to Brasilia's CAJE juvenile detention 
center was intercepted by three armed men.  The assailants 
freed two detainees and held the others, as well as the CAJE 
security officers and the driver, hostage for one hour.  The 
escapees had a history of violence: one has twelve prior 
offenses the other is under investigation for three 
homicides. 
 
3. CAJE holds approximately 375 youths though its official 
capacity is 196.  The facility employs 15 unarmed guards. 
Detainees serve a maximum of three years; violent robbery is 
the most common offense.  Although approximately 30 
adolescents leave CAJE daily, armed guards are rarely used 
for transports and police escorts are not required for the 
transport of less than twenty detainees.  Critics such as 
Federal District Representative Erika Kokay fault CAJE for 
inadequate facilities, understaffing, violence, poor 
security, and unsatisfactory treatment of mentally ill 
internees. 
 
4. COMMENT:  Brasilia has about one-tenth the population of 
Sao Paulo and Rio, and has avoided some of the gravest public 
security crises seen in those cities, both in the streets and 
in the jails.  Although Brasilia once seemed immune to the 
prison violence that plagues larger cities, it is now being 
forced to confront the same public security issues albeit on 
a much smaller scale. 
 
DANILOVICH