Rio de Janeiro is hell, according to a sign greeting travelers at the city's airport.
"Welcome to hell. Police and firefighters don't get paid, whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe."
A group of police officers and firefighters held up the sign as part of a strike protesting budget cuts. The Washington Post reported that violence is rising in the city as the state government has cut law enforcement's budget by a third.
After Rio declared a state of fiscal emergency just a month before the Olympic Games, the city's law enforcement is so stretched for funding that some security forces have had to beg for necessities like toilet paper, according to the Associated Press.
The news service also reported that besides delaying officer salaries, Rio state has also grounded helicopters and idled half the police's fleet of cars to save money on gas.
Late last week, Reuters reported that Brazil's government distributed about $895 million in the form of an emergency loan to help the city cover security spending.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal, parent of CNBC, owns broadcast rights for the Olympics.
