RIO DE JANEIRO: At least 64 people have died in a massive police raid aimed at organized crime in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, security officials told CNN Brasil.
Among the dead are four Brazilian police officers, officials added. Rio de Janeiro State Governor Cláudio Castro told reporters at a press conference that police confiscated a “large quantity of drugs” in the raid, according to Reuters. Authorities also claimed on social media that at least 42 rifles were seized during the operation. Authorities called it the “biggest operation in Rio’s history,” involving 2,500 officers and the seizure of 42 rifles and large quantities of drugs.
Officials said gang members used drones to attack police in the Penha Complex, prompting intense clashes that left burned cars and barricades across the Alemão favela.
Global Reaction and Rights Concerns
In a post on X on Tuesday afternoon, Castro pronounced the raid “the biggest operation in the history of Rio de Janeiro.” Police raids are common in the city before international events, and next week, Rio will host a major climate conference, the C40 World Mayors Summit. Video published by Reuters on Tuesday showed huge columns of black smoke emerging from the Alemão favela during the raid. Photographs of Alemão in the aftermath showed the source: burned cars, constructed as barricades. Authorities launched an operation aiming to “combat the territorial expansion” of the Comando Vermelho criminal group, Rio de Janeiro’s government added in a lengthy thread on X.
The UN Human Rights Office said it was “horrified” by the scale of killings, urging Brazil to investigate the “extreme lethal consequences” of its security tactics. On Tuesday, the United Nations Human Rights Office criticized the raid in a post on X, saying that it was “horrified” by the scale of the violence.
The raid occurred days before the C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio, raising questions over the timing and the government’s “narco-terrorism” narrative.
The gang used drones
At least 81 people were arrested Tuesday, according to a social media post by Rio de Janeiro’s Police Department. During the raid, gang members allegedly targeted police with a drone, authorities said.
“In retaliation, criminals used drones to attack police officers in the Penha Complex,” Rio de Janeiro’s state government said in a post on X, sharing a video of what appears to show a drone firing a projectile from the sky. “Despite the attacks, security forces remain steadfast in the fight against crime,” the state government added.
“This is the magnitude of the challenge we face,” Castro said in a post, before using a term popular among tough-on-crime leaders in the United States and Latin America. “It is no longer common crime, it is narco-terrorism.” Castro also asked residents of the affected neighborhoods to remain indoors while the operation is underway.
