Senior US diplomat shot in foot during attempted robbery on highway near Rio de Janeiro
RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A senior US diplomat in Brazil was shot in the foot during an attempted robbery on a highway near Rio de Janeiro, police said on Friday, highlighting surging violence in Rio state where an economic crisis has drained public resources.
Police said the vice consul was taken from the scene near Angra dos Reis to the Hospital Samaritano in the state capital for surgery.
The hospital confirmed the diplomat remained under treatment at midday on Friday.
The state has struggled in the year since the hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics. An economic downturn and a fiscal crisis in the months since has strained Rio state's budget, driving up unemployment and homelessness while undercutting security spending.
Violence has also increased. Official data shows homicides in Rio de Janeiro state rose to 3,755 in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period a year earlier - a 14% increase. Gangs are believed to control swaths of the city of Rio de Janeiro, and federal police and troops have been deployed several times since the Olympic Games to quell violence.
(Reporting by Pedro Fonseca and Bruno Federowski; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)