General: Rise in Rio police killings not sign of failed plan

The general in charge of a controversial military intervention in Rio de Janeiro says that a rise in killings during police operations is a sign that authorities are more aggressively confronting crime.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, Gen. Richard Nunes pushed back against critics who argue that the intervention is leading to more violence in the city that two years ago hosted the 2016 Olympics.

The intervention was ordered in February amid a spike in crime.

Nunes lamented a rise in police killings compared to the same six-month period last year. However, he said the situation wasn’t comparable because the military inherited an underfunded force lacking motivation. He said police were now better trained and more effective.