Brazil's fight against organized crime: Silva sends the army to the most important airports and ports

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has announced that he will send the military to the country's most important airports and ports and to the borders to strengthen security in an effort to fight organized crime in Latin America's largest nation.

Brazil will send 3.600 members of the army, navy and air force to step up patrols and monitor international airports in Rio and Sao Paulo, as well as Rio's two seaports and the port of Santos in Sao Paulo, which is Latin America's busiest port.

The deployment of the armed forces is part of a broader government plan that includes increasing the number of police in Rio, improving cooperation between security services and investing more in cutting-edge intelligence-gathering technology.

State and federal officials have said in recent weeks that they plan to "suffocate" criminal gangs by cutting off their financial income.

Justice Minister Flavio Dino said the new measures are the result of several months of consultations by President Lula with police forces, local officials and public security experts.