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At least 64 people are dead, among them four police officers, after a massive anti-gang operation in Rio de Janeiro spiraled into a deadly street battle on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
According to local reports and The Times, the raid targeted members of the Red Command, one of Brazil's most violent drug-trafficking organizations, operating in the northern suburbs near the city's international airport. What began as an attempt to serve arrest warrants quickly became Rio's largest and deadliest police operation on record.
More than 2,500 officers took part in the raid, backed by two helicopters, several drones, and a fleet of armored vehicles and demolition trucks. As police entered the Alemão and Penha districts, gang members retaliated with gunfire and grenades, setting barricades ablaze and turning the dense neighborhoods into war zones.
"This is how Rio de Janeiro police are greeted by criminals, with bombs dropped by drones," state governor Cláudio Castro wrote on Facebook. "It is no longer a common crime. It is drug terrorism."
Police officials said the operation, named Contenção ("Containment"), had 51 warrants ready, mostly for suspects tied to drug trafficking and torture. Castro confirmed that those killed had resisted arrest.
In a statement, the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro expressed condolences for the four fallen officers: Marcos Vinícius Cardoso de Carvalho, 51; Rodrigo Velloso Cabral, 34; Heber Carvalho da Fonseca, 39; and Cleiton Serafim Gonçalves, 42.
Authorities reported nearly 100 arrests, over 90 rifles seized, and half a ton of narcotics recovered. Images from the scene showed burned-out vehicles and residents picking through wreckage after the violence.
The United Nations Human Rights Office condemned the scale of the bloodshed, calling it "horrifying" and urging an independent investigation. "This deadly operation continues the trend of extreme lethal consequences in Brazil's marginalized communities," the agency said.
The operation came just days before two high-profile international events in Brazil, the Earthshot Prize ceremony in Rio on Nov. 5 and the UN Climate Summit in Belém on Nov. 6, adding new scrutiny to Brazil's ongoing battle between law enforcement and organized crime.
