Oct 29, 2025, 4:52 p.mOct 29, 2025, 5:02 p.m
Forensic experts load bodies for transport.Image: keystone
At least 132 people were killed in the bloody police operation against the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) crime syndicate in the Brazilian coastal metropolis of Rio de Janeiro. This was announced by the independent ombudsman of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The number of victims more than doubled one day after hours of fighting in the Alemão and Penha favelas.
Residents recovered dozens of bodies from the area
The government of the state of Rio de Janeiro initially confirmed 64 deaths, including four police officers, but then corrected the number to 58 without giving a reason. However, on Wednesday, residents of the Penha favela recovered dozens of bodies from the surrounding wasteland and forest areas and laid them down on the district’s main street. Military police spokesman Marcelo de Menezes Nogueira told TV channel TV Globo that he assumed there were additional deaths that had not yet been registered.
The residents of the favela lined up the dead next to each other, some under blankets, but many wearing only their underwear. Family members were looking for their loved ones, others were already mourning their dead. “In 36 years in the favela, during which I witnessed several operations and massacres, I have never seen anything comparable to what I see today,” said activist Raull Santiago, who helped recover the bodies, to TV Globo. «This is something new. Brutal and violent on a previously unknown level.”
The operation was the bloodiest police operation in the history of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Despite the bloody outcome, Governor Cláudio Castro called the operation a success. “We stand by everything we did yesterday,” he said and condoled with the families of the four officers who were killed. “The only victims yesterday were these police officers.”
Comando Vermelho is involved in drug trafficking
The Comando Vermelho is one of the largest crime syndicates in the South American country and is primarily active in the drug trade. According to authorities, 81 suspects were arrested during the operation – including a regional leader of the group and the financial head of one of the gang’s top bosses. The police also confiscated over 90 automatic weapons and more than 200 kilograms of drugs.
Onlookers and relatives stand around the bodies.Image: keystone
After the operation, ten high-ranking leaders of the Comando Vermelho who had already been imprisoned were transferred to a high-security prison. They are said to have ordered retaliatory measures against the security forces.
Fierce battles with rapid-fire rifles and drones
At least 2,500 police officers were involved in the operation, which also used two helicopters and dozens of armored vehicles. Criminals set fire to barricades and cars, dropped explosives from drones and opened fire on officers. Four police officers were killed in the operation and nine other police officers were shot. Three civilians were also caught in the crossfire.
Videos showed clouds of black smoke rising over the neighborhoods. During one of the fiercest phases of the fighting, over 200 shots ripped through the favela in one minute. Black-clad police officers in riot gear stormed through the narrow streets of the slums with assault rifles at the ready.
The civil war-like conditions also had an impact on city life. Over 100 bus routes had to change their routes because of the fighting. Several universities and schools canceled classes. Around 280,000 people live in the affected districts. «That is the reality. “We deeply regret that people were injured, but this is a necessary, intelligently planned measure that will continue,” Rio de Janeiro Security Minister Victor Santos told TV Globo.
House facades scarred by bullet holes could be seen on television. A resident of the Alemão favela reported that during the shooting a bullet went through her window and hit the refrigerator. Another complained that her dog had been shot.
Brazil’s police kill 17 people a day
In hardly any other country in the world do as many people die in police operations as in Brazil. In 2024, security forces in the South American country killed 6,243 people – an average of 17 people per day, according to the Public Security Yearbook. In the USA last year, police officers were responsible for the deaths of 1,378 people; in Germany, 22 people were shot by officers.
However, police operations in Europe cannot be compared to those in Brazil: many slums are controlled by heavily armed drug gangs. When the police enter the favelas to execute an arrest warrant or search for drugs, they are often greeted with volleys of assault rifles. The operations in the winding streets of the slums of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo are more like military operations than police operations. However, human rights activists accuse the police of often being excessively harsh and showing little consideration for the residents of the favelas.
Human rights activists criticize the bloody operation
The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner called for an investigation into the bloody police operation in Rio de Janeiro. “We are horrified by the police operations in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, in which over 60 people have reportedly died, including four police officers,” it said in a statement. “They continue the trend of extremely deadly operations in Brazil’s left-behind communities. We remind the authorities of their obligations under international law and call for an immediate investigation.”
The human rights organization Amnesty International also criticized the operation. “Public safety is not achieved with blood,” the group said in a statement. “The operation with the most deaths in the history of Rio de Janeiro reveals the failure of the state’s security policy and puts the city in a state of terror.” (sda/dpa)