BRASIL: 1ST UPDATE: 2 Bomb Scares As Police Launch 20 Favella Raids After Roadblocked Rio Drivers Are Robbed, Vehicles, Buses Burned.

LINK CHANGE/ AP/ 24 NOV/
  
     Rio police launched raids into 20 slums, looking for drug lords responsible for recent traffic violence, resulting in at least 12 people killed.
  Gangs of gunmen in Rio had set-up traps for 4 mornings, mostly on the outskirts of the city, to block and rob motorists just as the all-important tourist season is about to begin. One driver were killed after refusing to stop his car. Police have arrested 13.
   The thieves set at least 10 cars and 5 buses on fire to prevent drivers from fleeing and police from reaching the scene.
   It's not the first time that criminals have trapped drivers to rob them. They have also closed narrow streets or blocked tunnels. After 10 robberies in October, 19 police battalion leaders were fired.

       "The scary part is that now it's getting close to us. Before the violence was always far away," said a resident of  wealthy Ipanema. "Now we're feeling it on our flesh. The criminals have discovered the power they have and they want to show it."
FOR DETAILS ON POLICE SLUM RAIDS, BOMB SCARES, SEE:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-24/rio-faces-bomb-scare-cars-on-fire-as-police-steps-up-security-in-favelas.html