Brazilian security forces launched a massive daylong operation on drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, setting off fierce gun battles, in what officials called one of the largest and most violent police actions in recent years.
Around 2,500 Brazilian police officers and soldiers on Tuesday carried out a major operation against a drug-trafficking gang in Rio de Janeiro, resulting in intense gun battles that left at least 60 suspects and four police officers dead, officials said. A total of 81 suspects were arrested during the raid.
The large-scale crackdown, involving helicopters and armored vehicles, targeted the notorious Red Command gang operating in the sprawling favelas of Complexo do Alemao and Penha, police said.
The police operation was one of the most violent in Brazilโs recent history, with human rights organizations calling for investigations into the deaths.
60 criminal suspects were killed
Rio’s state Gov. Claudio Castro said in a video posted on X that 60 criminal suspects were “neutralized” during the massive raid that he called the biggest such operation in the cityโs history. Some 81 suspects were arrested, while 93 rifles and more than half a ton of drugs were seized, the state government said, adding that those killed โresisted police action.”
Rio’s civil police said on X that four officers died in Tuesday’s operation. “The cowardly attacks by criminals against our agents will not go unpunished,” it said.
An unknown number of people were wounded.
UN human rights office ‘horrified’
The United Nations’ human rights body said it was “horrified” by the deadly police operation, called for effective investigations and reminded authorities of their obligations under international human rights law.
Cesar Munoz, director of Human Rights Watch in Brazil, called Tuesday’s events “a huge tragedy” and a “disaster.” “The public prosecutor’s office must open its own investigations and clarify the circumstances of each death,” Munoz said in a statement.
Thick smoke, flames seenย
Videos circulating on social media showed thick smoke and flames billowing from the two favelas as gunfire echoed through the neighborhoods. The city’s Education Department announced the closure of 46 schools across the affected areas, while the nearby Federal University of Rio de Janeiro canceled evening classes and instructed students and staff to remain indoors for safety.
Local media reported that suspected gang members retaliated by blocking roads in the northern and southeastern parts of Rio. At least 70 buses were hijacked and used to create barricades, causing widespread disruption and damage, according to the cityโs bus operatorsโ association, Rio Onibus.
Police officials said the massive operation was the culmination of a year-long investigation into the Red Command gangโs activities.
Rio de Janeiro has a long history of violent police operations. In March 2005, 29 people were killed in the Baixada Fluminense region, and in May 2021, another deadly raid in the Jacarezinho favela claimed 28 lives.
(With AP inputs)
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