Shortly before dawn in late June 2019, a heavily armed crew of bank robbers rammed a truck into the Brazilian city of Uberaba's main Banco do Brasil branch. They left the building several hours later with around $5 million dollars in cash.
The thieves were part of a new class of stick-up artists, known as "novo cangaco" gangs, terrorizing Brazil's interior. Using assault rifles and explosives to turn rural towns into war zones, the specialized crews have netted an astonishing $120 million since emerging in 2015, think tank Alpha Bravo Brasil says.
