VZCZCXRO4521
OO RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #0869/01 2202014
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 082014Z AUG 06
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5566
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6641
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 3065
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 7341
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 2704
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2382
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 2095
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 2948
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 1820
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEABND/DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMIN HQ WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAO PAULO 000869 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DS/IP/WHA, DS/ICI/PII, DS/DSS/OSAC, WHA/BSC 
NSC FOR FEARS 
DEA FOR OEL/DESANTIS AND NIRL/LEHRER 
DEPT ALSO FOR WHA/PDA, DRL/PHD, INL, DS/IP/WHA, DS/DSS/ITA 
BRASILIA FOR RSO AND LEGAT; RIO DE JANEIRO FOR RSO 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCRM CASC ASEC SNAR SOCI BR
SUBJECT: SAO PAULO FACES DAY 2 OF PRE-FATHER'S DAY JITTERS 
 
REF: (A) SAO PAULO 865; (B) SAO PAULO 771; (C) SAO PAULO 573; (D) 
 
SAO PAULO 742 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:   The dawn of Tuesday, August 8, marked Day Two 
of the third wave of PCC violence in Sao Paulo State since May (ref 
A).  Metropolitan Sao Paulo was spared from attacks overnight, but 
cities scattered throughout Sao Paulo state suffered from homemade 
bomb and Molotov cocktail attacks on municipal buildings, shots 
fired at police, and buses lit afire.  Four suspects were killed 
among the various incidents.  A grenade was found by city workers at 
the entrance to a tunnel of a major artery passing through the heart 
of Sao Paulo during rush hour, but this was detonated by the police 
bomb squad with no injury or damage.  The official tally from two 
days of violence (August 7 and 8) topped 100 attacks against over 
100 targets in more than 20 cities around Sao Paulo state.  State 
government officials were quoted Tuesday afternoon as confirming 
that some 11,000 inmates will be released on furlough for Father's 
Day weekend.  Post held an Emergency Action Committee (EAC) meeting 
on Tuesday morning to review the situation and our security posture 
(septel).  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
DAY TWO: PCC FOCUSES ON SAO PAULO STATE INTERIOR 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Elements of the organized crime gang First Capital 
Command (PCC) orchestrated a second round of assaults on government 
and private sector targets in the early morning of Tuesday, August 
8, in what is being called the Third Wave of attacks since May 
(reftels).   Tuesday's attacks took place almost exclusively outside 
of metropolitan Sao Paulo, in cities ranging from 60 to 300 miles 
from the state capital.  Homemade bombs and Molotov cocktails were 
thrown at municipal buildings and shots were fired at police 
facilities.  One church was lit afire, but it lies immediately 
adjacent to the mayor's office of the city, and the same group is 
suspected of starting the fire and throwing a bomb at the municipal 
building.  Both situations were quickly controlled by public safety 
officials.  At least one bus and one bank outlet were also hit by 
incendiary devices.  Four suspects were killed by police in the 
course of failed attacks within greater Sao Paulo.  State officials 
registered 80 attacks against 100 targets in 18 cities on Monday, 
August 7, bringing the total number of attacks over two days to more 
than 100.  (NOTE:  We have information regarding an incident in 
recent days involving a Molotov cocktail and graffiti targeting a 
synagogue in the city of Campinas, 60 miles north of Sao Paulo.  At 
this time that incident seems unrelated to the PCC-led attacks 
described herein and reftel.  Likewise, we have no information at 
this time that the attack on the church described above was rooted 
in any anti-religious or ethnic motivation. END NOTE) 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  While no attacks occurred within Sao Paulo proper 
overnight Tuesday, rush hour was disrupted when a grenade was found 
near the entrance to a tunnel along Avenida Nove de Julho, a major 
artery connecting various parts of the city.  The tunnel is located 
in the heart of the city, near the location of the previous 
Consulate General building, and the edge of the neighborhood where 
nearly half of the Consulate's American staff and their families 
live.  Early press reports indicate the grenade was of a type used 
exclusively in Brazil by the Brazilian Army. A police special 
tactics team detonated the device without injury or damage. 
Although the grenade was found with its pin still in place, early 
reports are calling it an attempt by criminals to blow up the 
tunnel, perhaps due to the device's placement near a fountain under 
repair, which stands at the entrance to the tunnel.  This tunnel not 
only constitutes part of the busy Nove de Julho thoroughfare, but 
also crosses directly under the equally busy and important Avenida 
Paulista in the heart of Sao Paulo's financial district. 
 
---------------------------------- 
HOME FOR FATHER'S DAY, FROM PRISON 
 
SAO PAULO 00000869  002 OF 002 
 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  As reported yesterday (ref A), under Brazilian law, state 
authorities must temporarily release many inmates confined in 
minimum security facilities ("semi-aberto," or "semi-open") in 
conjunction with five holidays per year.  Sao Paulo state officials 
confirmed to press on Tuesday afternoon that some 11,000 inmates are 
expected to be released for the coming weekend, during which 
Father's Day is celebrated in Brazil.  It was the release of 12,000 
inmates for Mother's Day in May that helped spread the violence that 
began in the state's most notorious prisons to the streets of Sao 
Paulo, culminating in 44 police officers and some 120 suspected PCC 
members killed during the course of seven nights of street battles 
(refs B and C).  This occurred even though furlough can be denied to 
prisoners who have been listed as affiliated with the PCC by prison 
officials. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Interestingly, during the Father's Day holiday of 2005, 
only 7.3 percent of the released inmates did not return to prison as 
required.  However, given the massive prison population of Sao Paulo 
state, this percentage equated to 808 prisoners of the 11,087 
released.  965 of 12,645 prisoners, or 7.6 percent, did not return 
after the Mother's Day holiday furlough in May 2006. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Union representatives for the state's prison guards are 
warning members to stay away from public places this week, 
especially over the weekend.  Prison guards are also being told to 
vary their routines to lessen their risk of being attacked by 
prisoners on furlough.  In July, prison guards were the victims of 
reprisal killings at the hands of the PCC; five were killed and 
several more targeted while off-duty at their homes or nearby (ref 
D). 
 
---------------------------------- 
COMMENT: PREPARING FOR THE WEEKEND 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Tuesday's announcement by state government 
officials that the prisoner release will happen on Father's Day 
pursuant to law and custom may have been intended for two effects: 
1) to prepare the public for the possibility of yet another wave of 
violence led by the PCC, and 2) to signal to the PCC that the 
furloughs will not be suspended, thus effectively negotiating an end 
to the attacks of Monday and Tuesday that many suspect were in 
reaction to rumors that the furloughs might be cancelled (ref A). 
Post held an EAC meeting Tuesday morning to review the situation and 
the CONGEN's security posture (septel).   END COMMENT. 
 
MCMULLEN