Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Translated Words

ADA

Amigos dos Amigos (Friends of Friends), one of Rio’s three prison-based drug-trafficking factions

Alemão

German, a term used to refer to a rival gang and its members

AM

Associação de Moradores (Residents’ Association)

Avenida Brasil

Brazil Avenue, Rio de Janeiro’s busiest highway

Atacadista

Drug wholesaler

Avião/Aviãozinho

Airplane/little airplane, a messenger for the gang

Assaltante

Robber/mugger

Baile funk

Funk party, large gang-organized parties where a particular form of funk music is played, which features deep bass, sampled melodies, and a “bum cha-cha, bum cha-cha” beat

Barraca

A cart or stall used for selling food or other informal goods

Boca de fumo

“Mouth of smoke,” open-air retail drug markets

BOPE

Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (Special Police Operations Battalion)

Braço direito

Right-hand man, a moniker used to refer to a gang’s second-in-charge

Caveirão/caveirões

Big skull/s, armored vehicles that police use to invade favela territories

CCCC

Centro Comunitário do Combate a Criminalidade (Community Center for Combatting Crime), small police posts often located in or near favelas

Cria

Someone born and raised in the favela

CV

Comando Vermelho (Red Command), one of Rio’s three prison-based drug-trafficking factions

CVNH

Comando Vermelho da Nova Holanda (Comando Vermelho of New Holland), the local CV-connected gang in the Nova Holanda neighborhood

CVPU

Comando Vermelho do Parque União (Comando Vermelho of Union Park), the local CV-connected gang in the Parque União neighborhood

DD

Disque-Denúncia (Denunciation Hotline), an NGO-operated service to anonymously report crimes

Dono

Don or gang leader

DPO

Destacamento de Policiamento Ostensivo (Ostensive Policing Detachment), small police posts often located in or near favelas

Endolador

Packager, sometimes but not always a gang member who is paid to divide, weigh, and package drugs

Facção/facções

Faction/factions, a term that refers to the three prison-based drug-trafficking organizations in the city of Rio de Janeiro: CV, TCP (see below), and ADA

Favela

A name given to various working-class neighborhoods with informal origins in Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian cities

Fogueteiro

Firecracker, a gang member, usually an adolescent, tasked with shooting off firecrackers when police are seen entering the community

Gerente

Manager

Gerente de boca

Sales-point manager, a gang member responsible for the operation of an open-air drug market

Gerente de cocaína/

Cocaine manager, a gang member responsiblepó/brancofor the packaging and distribution of all cocaine within a gang’s territory

Gerente de crack

Crack manager, a gang member responsible for the packaging and distribution of all crack within a gang’s territory

Gerente de maconha/

Marijuana manager, a gang member pretoresponsible for the packaging and distribution of all marijuana within a gang’s territory

Gerente de preço

Price manager, a gang member responsible for the packaging and distribution of one quantity of one drug (e.g., R$50 of marijuana)

Gerente dos soldados/

Soldiers or security manager, a gang de segurançamember responsible for organizing the schedules of security personnel and keeping track of armaments

Gerente geral

General manager

Gringo

A general term for foreigner, but most often used to refer to white foreigners

Guerra

War

Jogo do bicho

Animal game, an illegal lottery (commonly referred to as the numbers racket in the US) where animals represent different numbers that are drawn weekly with the winner receiving a lump sum and the organizers taking a cut

Irmãos Metralha

Beagle Boys, a gang from Nova Holanda in the 1980s led by five brothers

Lei de silêncio

Law of silence, also referred to as the lei do morro “law of the hillside”

Linha Amarela

Yellow Line highway

Linha Vermelha

Red Line highway

Matuto

Supplier of retail drugs

Milícia

Militia, a term used to refer to police-connected racketeering organizations that monopolize a variety of illicit and informal markets in hundreds of favelas throughout Rio de Janeiro

OCGs

Organized and criminalized groups

Olheiro

Lookout

Palafita

Shack on stilts, thousands of which were built in Maré from the 1940s to the 1980s, later removed by the public authority

PPC

Posto de Policiamento Comunitário (Community Police Post), small police posts often located in or near favelas

Real/reais

Brazilian currency, R$1 was roughly equal to $0.40 during my fieldwork

Soldado

Soldier, a gang member tasked with security duties

Sub-gerente

Sub-manager, a gang member who works directly for/under a manager

TC

Terceiro Comando (Third Command), one of Rio’s three prison-based drug-trafficking factions until 2002

TCP

Terceiro Comando Puro (Pure Third Command), one of Rio’s three prison-based drug-trafficking factions since 2002; also the abbreviation I use to refer to the local TCP affiliated gang in Complexo da Maré

Vacilão

Someone that is considered disloyal or cowardly

Vapor

Seller, a gang member who exchanges drugs for money at open-air drug markets