Preparing for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro launched a security program called “UPP,” Police Pacification Unit. UPPs are permanent police posts installed in the “favelas,” the sprawling shantytowns that house hundreds of thousands of the city residents. Their mission is to eliminate drug trafficking and organized crime within these communities. While many believe the UPPs have helped to quell the violence and bring prosperity to the favelas, others see the Pacification program as a temporary cover-up to Rio’s problems with social disparity.