Brazil Apologizes After Black Diplomats' Children Searched at Gunpoint by Police

 Brazil’s Foreign Ministry has issued an apology to the embassies of Canada, Gabon, and Burkina Faso after three diplomats’ teenage children – all Black – were subjected to a police search at gunpoint.

The incident came to light when a Brazilian mother, whose son was part of the group, shared security camera footage online. The video has sparked outrage and highlighted the common plight of Black youths in Rio de Janeiro.

The teenagers, visiting Rio for a five-day holiday with a white Brazilian friend to celebrate the end of the school year, attend the same school in Brasília. This was their first trip without their parents.

Late Wednesday, as the group was returning from the beach and about to enter a building in the affluent neighborhood of Ipanema, a military police patrol car approached. Two officers exited the car, ordered the boys to face the wall, and conducted a search at gunpoint.

Rhaiana Rondon, the mother of one of the Brazilian boys, said the Black teens were specifically targeted by the police. She noted that the officer treated her white son much more gently compared to the three Black youths, who had guns pointed at their heads.

In a statement to a state parliament committee, the teenagers described the officers' conduct, including a demand to expose their private parts to check for hidden drugs. One of the boys recounted that the officers warned them not to walk around or risk being searched again.

Rondon called the search blatantly racist, supported by the video, testimonies, and the teenagers' accounts. The three foreign boys are the sons of the ambassadors of Gabon and Burkina Faso, and a Canadian diplomat.

Julie-Pascale Moudoute-Bell, the wife of the Gabonese ambassador, expressed her outrage on TV Globo: “The police are there to protect. How could they point guns at the heads of 13-year-old boys? We trust in the Brazilian justice system and we want justice, that’s all.”

On Friday, the ambassadors of Gabon, Burkina Faso, and Canada received a formal apology from the Brazilian government during a meeting at the foreign ministry in Brasília. The ministry called on the Rio state government to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure accountability for the police officers involved.

Jurema Werneck, Amnesty International Brazil’s executive director, condemned the incident as driven by racism, noting that such events are common in Brazil's favelas, outskirts, and Black communities. She highlighted the grim statistic that in 2022, 87% of the more than 1,300 people killed by police in Rio were Black, despite Afro-Brazilians comprising 58% of the state’s population.

Rio’s military police announced that body camera footage from the officers involved would be reviewed for any misconduct. Meanwhile, the civil police, responsible for investigations, said their tourist assistance and racial crimes units are probing the case.

Rondon described the lasting trauma on the teenagers, who now react fearfully to police sirens and patrol cars. Despite her precautions about street violence, she never anticipated the police would pose the greatest threat.