Police operation in Rio de Janeiro favelas leaves at least 60 people dead

According to local media reports, more than 60 people have died in a law enforcement operation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, including four police officers.

In a video released on Tuesday, Governor Claudio Castro claimed that 60 alleged criminals had been “neutralized” as part of a massive police operation that saw the delivery of more than 250 arrest and search warrants.

He added that weapons and 81 people had been seized as well.

What do we desire, exactly? A crime-free Brazil and a Rio de Janeiro, according to Castro. We won’t retreat because we think your family will be more freed up as a result of more public safety work.

However, international scrutiny has been drawn on the death toll. The north of the city’s raid on Tuesday has become the single most lethal police operation in town history.

Officials claimed that Operation Containment, a campaign to combat organized crime and drug trafficking, was the result of the violence.

One of the main targets was the gang Comando Vermelho, also known as the Red Command. Operation Containment, according to the state government, was the largest group-targeting initiative ever.

Governor Castro wrote on the social media platform X that the operation aims to stop the Comando Vermelho’s territorial expansion and capture criminal leaders from Rio de Janeiro and other states.

According to Castro, up to 2,500 police officers were present for the police raid on Tuesday, some of whom were equipped with armored vehicles and helicopters.

The initiative focused on the low-income, densely populated neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, the Alemao and Penha favela complexes.

However, as the operation was about to begin, gunfire erupted, causing road closures, as well as injuries to dozens. Initial reports suggest that bystanders may have been struck by stray bullets.

Comando Vermelho is regarded as Rio de Janeiro’s main drug-trafficking force, and it controls some of the city’s less developed areas.

However, other violent groups have swayed the state in large numbers.

According to Al Jazeera’s Monica Yanakiew, “Sixty percent of the state of Rio de Janeiro is either controlled by drug gangs or by the militia, which were formal policemen who decided to charge people who lived in the slums to pay them security fees.”

Comando Vermelho, a major player in the global cocaine trade in the 1980s, collaborated with Colombian cartels and traffickers in the Amazon rainforest to distribute illegal narcotics.

Brazil has the second-highest gross cocaine consumption globally, behind only the United States.

According to government figures, the nation recorded more than 180 000 incidents involving cocaine trafficking in 2023, which included the seizures of nearly 130 000 kilograms (286, 600 pounds) of the substance.

In Brazil’s favelas, police frequently raid criminal organizations, and many of them endanger lives. Around 700 people died in Rio de Janeiro in the year of the year, or almost twice as many as in the day.

At least 25 people were killed when armed police stormed the Jacarezinho favela in 2021, making one of the deadliest of these raids.

At the time, Al Jazeera had access to video and images showing blood and bullet-damaged neighborhoods in favela neighborhoods.

Such incidents raise questions about police brutality and effectiveness.

Yanakiew, who was speaking from Rio de Janeiro, claimed to have spoken with Rio de Janeiro residents who were upset about the bloodshed on Tuesday.

She glared at her and said, “These are some relatives of the people who were taken here who are very upset.” They claim that they can’t transport any bodies up the hill to the hospital because there are “some 20” of them.

With Brazil’s upcoming national elections in 2026, Yanakiew added, the threat of drug trafficking and criminal violence is likely to be at the forefront.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s current president, made the announcement last week that he would be running for re-election in the upcoming election, but the right-wing force is expected to be harshly criticized.

According to Yanakiew, “the government does not want these criminal gangs to be considered terrorists as the right in Brazil does.” This debate is therefore ongoing right now.

The timing of these massive police operations in Brazil, which are not uncommon before significant international events, has also been questioned by human rights organizations.

Rio de Janeiro will host the C40 World Mayors Summit and Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, which are recognized for environmental achievements, next week.

Source: Aljazeera