This heavily armed group wears black uniforms and their faces are often masked, and their symbol includes a skull with crossed pistols. It is not some illegal paramilitary force but an elite battalion of the police in Rio de Janeiro known as Bope, the Battalion for Special Police Operations. They were created by the Department of Police to deal with kidnappings, but their job now is to take on the most dangerous drug gangs in the country, a battle fought with high-calibre weapons in the city’s favelas and shanty towns. The launch of a new movie called Tropa de Elite (or Elite Squad) has put this police unit in the spotlight in an unprecedented way. The movie also points an accusing finger at the hypocrisy of rich young people who complain about violence in Brazilian society, but who use the drugs that finance the gangs which dominate many favelas. Some critics have accused the film of glamorising violence and making a hero of a police officer who endorses torture and acts outside the law, an interpretation rejected by the film’s director.

Internet: <news.bbc.co.uk> (adapted).