119 Killed in Rio Police Raids Targeting Drug Gangs

At least 119 people were killed in Tuesday’s police raids on drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian police officials said Wednesday, nearly doubling the earlier death toll of 60.

According to police, 115 suspected gang members and four police officers were killed during the military-style operation targeting Rio’s most powerful criminal organization, the Commando Vermelho. However, the state public defender’s office placed the death toll even higher, at 132.

“The elevated lethality of the operation was expected but not desired,” Victor Santos, head of security for Rio state, said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The raids, involving approximately 2,500 police officers, were carried out in the northern Rio neighborhoods of Penha Complex and Alemao Complex.

Residents accused police of summary executions as mourners gathered in the streets where bodies were laid. “The state came to massacre, it wasn’t a police operation. They came directly to kill, to take lives,” one woman in Penha Complex told the AFP news agency.

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“There are people who have been executed, many of them shot in the back of the head, shot in the back. This cannot be considered public safety,” said 36-year-old resident and activist Raul Santiago.

Brazil’s Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was “horrified” by the scale of fatalities and surprised that such an operation took place without the federal government’s prior knowledge.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the high death toll. “He stresses that the use of force in police operations must adhere to international human rights law and standards, and urges the authorities to undertake a prompt investigation,” Guterres’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday.

Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro defended the operation, insisting that all those killed were criminals. He stated that most clashes occurred in a wooded area where civilians were unlikely to be. “I don’t think anyone would be walking in the forest on the day of the conflict,” he told reporters. “The only real victims were the police officers.”

The massive operation included armored vehicles, helicopters, and drones. Police said gang members exchanged heavy gunfire with authorities, barricaded buses, and used explosive-laden drones to attack police.

“This is not ordinary crime, but narcoterrorism,” Governor Castro wrote Tuesday on X, where he posted a video from the fighting.

Police raids against criminal organizations are common in Brazil’s favelas and frequently turn deadly. In 2024 alone, approximately 700 people died during police operations in Rio, averaging almost two deaths per day.

Rights groups have raised concerns over the timing of such large-scale operations, which often occur before major international events.

Next week, Rio de Janeiro will host the C40 World Mayors Summit and Prince William’s Earthshot Prize for environmental achievements. Later this year, Brazil is set to welcome world leaders for the United Nations climate summit, COP30, in the Amazonian city of Belem, beginning November 10.

Editor’s Note:

The deadly police raids in Rio de Janeiro underscore Brazil’s ongoing struggle to curb organized crime while balancing human rights concerns. As the international community prepares to focus on Brazil for upcoming global events, the scale and consequences of such operations will likely remain under scrutiny.