Brazilian soldiers opened fire on a family driving to a baby shower in Rio de Janeiro, riddling their vehicle with more than 80 bullets and killing one of the occupants, reports said on Monday. Ten army personnel have been arrested over Sunday's incident, which also wounded two others, on suspicion of failure to comply with rules of engagement, the military said in a statement.
Brazil's armed forces on Sunday paid tribute to a 1964 coup leading to a two-decade dictatorship, after far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who argues that military intervention saved the country from communism, reversed an 8-year-ban on celebrations.
The commander of Brazil's army added tension on the eve of a Supreme Court decision on whether former President Lula da Silva should be allowed to exhaust his appeals process before being sent to jail for a corruption conviction.
Brazil’s defence purchases mainly arms will be ruled by strategic priorities such as geopolitical interests and technology transfers and not only price, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette from the Union.
The Brazilian Army and Iveco signed this week a contract for the purchase of 86 VBTP MR wheeled armoured personnel carriers known as Guarani. President of Iveco Latin America, Marco Mazzu, said that he was proud to participate in the renaissance of the defence industry in Brazil.