Rio Police Crackdown on Drug Trafficking Gang Claims 119 Lives
(MENAFN) A massive police operation against a drug trafficking gang in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas resulted in at least 119 fatalities, officials reported Wednesday.
The casualties came a day after the large-scale raid sparked criticism over alleged excessive force.
The death toll—115 suspected gang members and four police officers—was higher than initial reports, which cited 60 suspect deaths during Tuesday’s operation. The raid involved 2,500 police and military personnel targeting the Penha and Complexo do Alemão neighborhoods.
Felipe Curi, Rio’s state police secretary, told reporters additional bodies were discovered in a wooded area where suspects had been camouflaged while confronting security forces.
He added that residents had removed clothing and equipment from the bodies.
“These individuals were in the woods, equipped with camouflage clothing, vests and weapons. Now, many of them were found in their underwear or shorts, without any gear, as if they had gone through a portal and changed clothes,” Curi said.
Rio’s state public defender’s office put the death toll slightly higher at 132.
“The elevated lethality of the operation was expected but not desired,” said Victor Santos, Rio state’s head of security, at a news conference Wednesday.
Authorities said the raid aimed to "combat the territorial expansion" of the Comando Vermelho criminal group, which fired heavily on security forces and launched grenades from drones. Law enforcement units, moving in 32 armored vehicles, entered the northern neighborhoods in the early morning hours.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski expressed shock at the operation’s scale and were reportedly surprised that the federal government had not been informed beforehand.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres voiced concern over the high death count. “He emphasizes that the use of force in police operations must comply with international human rights law and standards, and urges authorities to carry out a prompt investigation,” said Guterres’s spokesman Stéphane Dujarric Wednesday.
Rio state Governor Claudio Castro defended the raid, insisting all those killed were criminals and that the fighting occurred mostly in a wooded area with minimal civilian presence.
“I don’t think anyone would be walking in the forest on the day of the conflict,” Castro told reporters. “The only true victims were the police officers.”
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
