According to media reports, at least 132 individuals, including four law enforcement officers, lost their lives on Tuesday during an extensive Brazilian police operation.
The BBC reported that this offensive, which occurred in the city’s favelas—poor neighborhoods that have long suffered from organized crime—was the most fatal in Rio’s history. Officials stated that the raid targeted drug gangs that continue to exert control over vast areas of the city, specifically aiming to confront the powerful Comando Vermelho, or “Red Command” organization, which dominates significant urban territories.
The local public defender’s office announced the casualty count, though Rio state Governor Cláudio Castro cautioned that forensic work was still in progress. He mentioned that the official figure he had received was 58 dead but added that this number was “certain to change.”
Castro remarked, “To be quite honest with you, the conflict unfolded entirely in the woods, not within a built-up area.” He continued, “Therefore, I do not believe anyone was simply taking a stroll in the woods on a day of conflict. And that’s why we can easily classify them.”
Authorities reported that suspects allegedly utilized drones to drop explosives on police officers as the operation progressed.
Castro stated, “This demonstrates how criminals treat the Rio police: with bombs dropped by drones. This is the scale of the challenge we confront. This is not ordinary crime, but narco-terrorism.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his dismay over the killings and indicated his surprise that the federal government had not been informed about the raid in advance.
On X, formerly Twitter, Castro disclosed that the raid had been meticulously planned for over two months following a year-long investigation, and that “the scenario encountered was the one that had been anticipated.”
He also paid tribute to those killed during the operation.
“Marcus Vinícius Cardoso de Carvalho, commissioner of the 53rd Police Station; Rodrigo Velloso Cabral, from the 39th Police Station; and Cleiton Serafim Gonçalves and Heber Carvalho da Fonseca, both sergeants of BOPE, gave their lives fulfilling the duty to protect the Fluminense population,” the governor wrote.
By Wednesday, Castro’s office announced that 113 people had been arrested, 10 teenagers detained, and authorities had seized 91 rifles, 29 pistols, 14 explosive devices, and one ton of cocaine.
This deadly operation has reignited debate in Brazil concerning police tactics, human rights, and the government’s ongoing struggle to control powerful gangs deeply entrenched in Rio’s impoverished communities.