Brazil World Cup winner warns tourists on Rio Olympic dangers

Wednesday, 11 May 2016 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

AFP: Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo has warned tourists to keep away from Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics in three months, saying the city is too dangerous.

"Stay in your country. Here, your life is in danger," the 44-year-old star of the 2002 World Cup team said on his Instagram account Monday.

He referred to the shooting death of a 17-year-old girl over the weekend in Rio, saying "things are increasingly ugly in Brazil."

Rivaldo said that in addition to high crime the country suffered from poor public hospitals and "the political mess" of the impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff.

"Only God can change the situation in our Brazil," he wrote.

The warning was likely to anger organisers of the first Olympics to be staged in South America. Officials say that about 85,000 police and soldiers will be on the streets, double the number of personnel deployed for the 2012 London Olympics.

Rio de Janeiro suffers from rampant crime, with favela neighborhoods subjected to frequent shootouts between drug traffickers and heavily armed police.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.