At least 64 people were killed in coordinated raids in a pair of Rio de Janeiro’s slums on Tuesday, making it the deadliest police action in Rio state history, state officials said. The 2,500-officer operation targeting the Red Command drew drone attacks and blockades as Brazil’s justice minister condemned the operation as “extremely violent” tactics and the U.N. called for authorities to investigate, according to reporting by The Washington Post and The Associated Press.
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Officials said suspected gang members fought back with gunfire and drones, set vehicles on fire and blocked roads. Local media reported that about 70 buses were used to form barricades.
Who was targeted and what was seized?
Police said the operation in the Complexo do Alemão and Penha favelas sought to “capture criminal leaders” and curb the Red Command’s territorial expansion, following more than a year of investigation, according to the Post. Rio Gov. Cláudio Castro said 60 “criminals” were killed and 81 arrested; he cited 75 rifles seized, while a separate state tally cited 93 rifles and more than half a ton of drugs.
“What we need is an increase in this work, both in combating money laundering and border security, so that we can take away the financial and military power of these criminal organizations,” Castro said to CNN Brasil.
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The Red Command is Brazil’s oldest major criminal group, born in the 1970s in Rio de Janeiro’s prisons.
How are officials and rights groups responding?
Castro called the operation the largest in Rio’s history and framed the threat as “narcoterrorism,” posting video of what he said were bombs being launched by gang-controlled drones.
Federal Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said the dead included “innocent civilians.”
Lewandowski described the raid as “extremely violent” and said he had received no formal request for federal cooperation beforehand, urging planning to combat organized crime, the Post reported.
The U.N. Human Rights Office said it was “horrified” and called for investigations.
How did the violence affect daily life?
Residents described difficulty leaving their homes during more than 12 hours of sustained gunfire, Brazilian media reported. Forty-six public schools closed, and the nearby Federal University of Rio de Janeiro canceled night classes and told people to shelter in place, according to the AP.
Why it matters
Raids are common in Rio’s favelas, and this toll surpassed the 28 killed in the 2021 Jacarezinho raid. Public safety experts quoted by AP questioned whether such actions reach criminal leadership or simply remove underlings who are quickly replaced.
