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当地时间17日，位于里约北部马拉卡纳球场附近的猴子山贫民社区发生贩毒集团之间的大规模枪战，警方一架直升机被击中后爆炸，机上两名警察当场死亡。暴力冲突持续了近一周的时间，到目前为止，已经导致3名警察、3名平民和27名毒贩死亡。

巴西媒体认为，里约的暴力冲突在一定程度上给巴西政府和里约政府提出了警告，里约想要改善治安，成功举办2016年奥运会，在未来的7年里仍然有很多工作要做，可谓任重道远。

It was just weeks ago that headlines worldwide trumpeted that Rio de Janeiro had been awarded the 2016 Olympics. Then, last weekend at the headlines from Rio, a deadly outburst of violence. Warring drug gangs left two dozen people dead, including three police officers.

As NPR's Juan Forero reports from Rio, there are concerns about the city's ability to control violence that plagues the slums and sometimes spills into the tourism districts.

(Soundbite of machinery)

JUAN FORERO: Miriam Silva de Maceo grinds sugarcane for the sweet juice she sells on a street leading up into the favela, or slum, called Morro de Macacos.

Ms. MIRIAM SILVA DE MACEO: (Foreign language spoken)

FORERO: She says things have calmed down since the weekend when this favela became a war zone. She says she can't dwell on the gunfight, though. She has to work to feed five children.

It's a normal response to the violence that's long marked life in hundreds of favelas. The crowded hillside communities that are home to more than two million people. But even the beleaguered slum dwellers were surprised by the mayhem that struck here on Saturday.

A turf battle ignited between drug trafficking gangs. One by one, young men began dropping dead. Then, when a police helicopter zeroed in, the gunmen started shooting into the sky. The helicopter crash-landed and burst into planes. Three policemen died.

Unidentified Man: (Foreign language spoken)

FORERO: The violence has been a staple on Brazilian channels all week, a reminder of how ineffective the police have been until now. Jose Mariano Beltrame, Rio's secretary of public security, told NPR that police tactics have changed in recent months.

Mr. JOSE MARIANO BELTRAME (Secretary of Public Security, Rio): (Through translator) In the past, the police would go, they would fight the traffickers and they'd leave.

FORERO: Beltrame said the strategy now is to clear out drug gangs with heavily-armed, militarized police and then establish a permanent presence using new community policing units. Those cops on patrol are supposed to develop links with residents. Beltrame said officials hope that will break the drug gangs' hold.

Mr. BELTRAME: (Through translator) And at this level, the police come to know the people in the community, know what is going on and are able to identify any sort of strange movement that might be happening and shut it down immediately.

FORERO: But forging ties won't be easy. Authorities here admit that many policemen are corrupt and brutal. There are even violent militias made up of off-duty policemen and firemen that compete with drug gangs for control. Barbara Olivi lives in the vast Rocinha favela, the city's largest, with 150,000 people. She spoke of heavy-handed police tactics and the ever-present helicopters.

Ms. BARBARA OLIVI: The other day, they arrived here at 6 o'clock in the morning. I opened the window and I saw a helicopter facing me. If I open the window and then suddenly, I make a movement, then they shoot at me. So, you know, very slowly, I put my hand high.

FORERO: She speaks inside the cramped offices of an organization that tries to get young people off the streets.

(Soundbite of cars)

FORERO: Just outside, a maze of narrow passageways leads past tiny cinder block homes, the sky above, a tangle of jury-rigged electrical wiring. Businesses are crammed into tiny storefronts, and motorcycle taxis zip passengers deep into the favela.

In a way, there's a semblance of normalcy. But the presence of young men with assault rifles - a common sight in the network of alleyways - is a sign of the ever-present danger. Some of those familiar with the favelas, in fact, have no illusions. Annie Hasemanns helps run a school for poor children.

Ms. ANNIE HASEMANNS: The violence you are seeing on TV, which happened last weekend, you have almost every day. If not in this favela, you have it in another favela.

FORERO: She worries about just how common it has all become and there's no end in sight. Just yesterday, police killed three more suspected gang members in the hunt for those who shot down the helicopter.

Juan Forero, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro.