Overview

• On June 3 in Duque de Caxias, 41-year-old motorcycle taxi driver Auriel Missael Henrique was riding with his wife when a glass-coated fighter kite string severed his throat and caused a fatal cardiac arrest before he reached the hospital.
• Known as linha chilena, the cords are coated in glue and powdered glass to slice opponent kites and can cut human skin, electrical wires and more.
• A federal bill to ban the manufacture, sale and use of razor-sharp kite strings passed Brazil’s lower house in February 2024 and is awaiting a decisive vote in the Senate.
• Enforcement of existing regional bans remains inconsistent, with the MovRio Institute logging more than 2,800 reports of illegal linha chilena use in Rio state since 2019.
• Many motorcyclists install razor-equipped antennas on their bikes to pre-cut stray kite lines, though serious injuries have also been reported internationally, including recent cases in New York.