US EditionBrazil's Lula "horrified" as Rio police raid death toll reaches at least 130
At least 130 people died during a large-scale police raid targeting Rio's Comando Vermelho gang, marking the deadliest police operation in the city's history, officials said.
- On October 28, Rio police targeted the Comando Vermelho, with authorities reporting at least 121 deaths, and Lewandowski saying `The president is horrified by the number of fatal incidents and was surprised that an operation of this scale was set up without the knowledge of the federal government`.
- Amid recurring favela raids, rights groups flagged excessive force as locals reported corpses with bound limbs and police killed over 6,000 nationally and 700 in Rio in 2024.
- The operation deployed roughly 2,500 officers supported by armoured vehicles, helicopters and drones as police and suspected gang members exchanged heavy gunfire, with suspects barricading in buses and using explosive-laden drones.
- On Oct 30, families of the deceased lined up at a morgue to identify victims and funerals began for four police officers, while the Brazil federal government said it was caught offguard and called for coordinated work.
- Rights groups and locals demanded independent probes and accountability as the Rio Public Prosecutor's Office sent forensic technicians to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, while critics questioned timing ahead of the C40 World Mayors Summit next week and COP30 in Belém starting November 10.
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21 Articles
Latin America is reviving the ‘iron fist’ approach to law enforcement
A massive anti-drug raid in Rio de Janeiro left 132 people dead in the early hours of October 28 as Brazil’s security forces confronted one of the country’s biggest crime gangs. It was one of the deadliest security operations in modern Brazilian history. Around 2,500 officers descended on the favelas of Complexo do Alemão and Complexo da Penha, strongholds of Brazil’s oldest criminal group, Comando Vermelho. There were more than 80 arrests. Auth…
Brazil's Lula "horrified" as Rio police raid death toll reaches at least 130
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed shock at the fatalities from a massive police operation targeting Rio drug gangs that left scores dead, while residents and rights advocates accused authorities of summary executions.
The raid was carried out in the Alemão and Penha communities and is considered to be the bloodiest police operation against drug dealers in Brazil's history. The state police said that the raids, seeing a large group of drug traffickers, were planned for over two months. The authorities announced that the operation involved more than 2,500 members of the order forces. Joi, President Lula da Silva noted on X: “We cannot accept that organized crim…
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