Australian Tourist Spends Night Unharmed in Dangerous Favela, Drinking With Armed Criminals

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Media outlet Extra reports that, entirely oblivious to any risk, an Australian tourist spent last Friday night, August 16th, drinking beer next to armed men from the Complexo do Alemão, in the North Zone of Rio.

Hugo Stanley-Cary, age 34, decided to visit a group of favelas after leaving Lapa, a bohemian neighborhood in the city’s downtown area where he had already been drinking.

The foreigner was first suspected of being a policeman when he arrived in the area but managed somehow to convince the criminals that he was not under cover.

He spent the night drinking in the community. The group of favelas has recorded 242 shootings this year, according to the “Fogo Cruzado” (Crossed Fire) platform.

“After the misunderstanding, they were nice to me. We drank a few beers, they showed me how to use guns, shared music, stories, and fighting techniques. At 9 AM, they escorted me to the exit, but I didn’t want to leave,” said Stanley-Cary.

Stanley-Cary works for a building company in Australia. He said he spent a month in Nicaragua and has been in Brazil for three weeks, between São Paulo, Foz do Iguaçu, and Rio de Janeiro.

To Extra, the tourist said he was in Lapa before dawn last Friday, around 3:00 AM, when he asked an app driver to take him to “the most dangerous favela of all”. He admitted that he had already been drunk, so he ended up in Complexo do Alemão.

Unafraid, the tourist remained in the favela and walked around the alleys. He was eventually found drunk and taken to the hostel where he was staying by residents of Complexo do Alemão. Hugo Stanley-Cary did not leave the favela until dusk.

Journalist Rene Silva, of Voz das Comunidades, was called in to help in the communication between the residents and the foreign tourist.

“He said he was in Brazil on vacation, and I said he had to leave because that area was dangerous. There were about twenty residents around him, protecting him from being robbed,” she added.

Rio’s municipal secretary of tourism, Paulo Jobim, resorted to stating that this case is evidence that the welcoming nature of Rio locals (Cariocas) is among one of the city’s greatest assets.

“This occurrence shows one of this city’s greatest assets: the nature of our locals. To rebuild the potential for tourism in our city, we need to mobilize Cariocas to welcome tourists with affection.”

Questioned, the Civil Police of Rio advised the reporter that it does not have a register of information on tourists, and that it could not comment on the case because no criminal complaint had been filed with the police.

(Source: Extra)