Brazilian marines on Tuesday practiced riot control maneuvers on Flamengo beach, in southern Rio de Janeiro, in preparation for possible violent demonstrations during the 2016 Olympic Games to be held here starting two weeks from now.

During the exercise, one ship deposited three troop transport trucks on the beach and another vessel put ashore 80 marines.

Once they had disembarked, the soldiers boarded the trucks and headed for the National Monument to the World War II Dead near the Olympic facilities that will host the sailing trials.

About 1,000 marines participated in the full exercise, which included isolating the Santos Dumont airport, mooring or docking several ships, disembarking troops and lining up naval vessels across Guanabara Bay.

At the same time, a helicopter also practiced the simulated rescue of a person supposedly injured in hypothetical local riots.

The commander of the land task force in Copacabana, Ricardo Henrique Santos do Pilar said that the exercise was “satisfactory” and was undertaken within the time period initially established for it.

The operation was also undertaken within the parameters expected during the Games and would not have “interfered with the competition,” authorities said.

On July 16, the Brazilian armed forces began a series of simulations involving various types of external threats to the Olympic facilities, but these will wrap up before the arrival of the first athletes, scheduled for July 24. EFE

Rio de Janeiro, Jul 19 (EFE)