Rio Faces Pressure to Increase Security Ahead Of The Olympics

04:21

June 22, 2016

Brazilian marines stand guard in the streets of the Mare favela complex for the last time before being completely relieved by the police, more than a year after being deployed to ramp up security in an area prone to gang warfare and drug trafficking ahead of last year's World Cup and South America's first ever Olympiad, in Rio de Janeiro, on June 30, 2015. (Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images)

Note: This BBC interview can be heard in the Here & Now podcast or with the WBUR app.

In Rio de Janeiro, Australia's Olympic team leader is putting pressure on Brazilian authorities to increase security, after two members of Australia's paralympic sailing team were robbed at gunpoint.

Last month, a Spanish Olympic sailor and his companions were also held up at gunpoint in Rio. Crime is just one in a long list of problems Rio is reckoning with ahead of the games, along with the threat of the Zika virus, political and financial crises, and contaminated water.

Here & Now's Lisa Mullins talk to the BBC's Wyre Davies.

Guest

Wyre Davies, BBC Rio Correspondent. He tweets @WyreDavies

This segment aired on June 22, 2016.