The New York Times reported the appalling statistic: The police kill an average of 17 people every day in Brazil. Rogue officers are killing even more off duty

For over a decade masked gunmen (cops) in the Brazilian city of Belem in defiance of the law have robbed, extorted, and killed without compunction. These death squads are part criminal enterprise are filled with retired and off-duty police officers who kill at will and impunity.

In a very unusual case, the Bolivian government decided to prosecute with one of these crimes–four of the killers were off-duty police officers.

Last year, Brazil reported the killing of 6,220 people–17 daily–according to the Brazilian Public Security Forum. Brazil’s president said: “criminals should die like cockroaches.”

Human rights advocates denounce the heavy-handed approach as both inhumane and ineffective. Proponents say it is the only way to confront crime.

In addition to the “official” police killing, illegal militias drawn from police officers, also wantonly kill. They commit extrajudicial killings, targeting people they consider criminals, robbers, and cop killers.

Latin America is in the midst of a homicide crisis. More killings take place in the region’s five most violent nations than in every major war zone combined, according to the Igarapé Institute, which tracks violence worldwide. In addition to Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico and other Latin American countries provide similar safe-havens for extra judicial killings. In El Salvador, 102 people are killed for every policeman killed. In these countries, there is a strong belief that violence promotes order.

The militias line their pockets for “security services” taking hefty sums from residents and local businesses. An officer in 2014 reported that “he hated criminals and was willing to kill innocent civilians accidentally.”

Sadly, the on going extrajudicial killing by the police in Brazil, El Salvador, and Mexico, etc. is escalating, leading to a civilian population that is paralyzed by fear.

Originally published in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune