At least 121 dead in Brazil after largest and most lethal police raid in Rio de Janeiro
The operation targeted the Comando Vermelho gang for drug trafficking.
At least 121 people were killed in Brazil in the deadliest police operation targeting organized crime and drug trafficking in Rio de Janeiro's history, Brazil’s military police told ABC News on Wednesday.
Police said at least 56 people were arrested in the operation.
The operation was carried out on Tuesday, but military police and Brazilian sources told ABC News they expected the death toll from the operation to climb on Wednesday.
The operation was carried out in various neighborhoods in the Rio de Janeiro province, including Complexo de Alemao and Penha, military police said.
The operation was intended to target criminal gang drug trafficking activity in the area. About 2,500 people from multiple police forces were involved in the operation, and some armored vehicles were used to conduct the operation, police said.
On Wednesday, dead bodies from the operation were lined up on the ground for families to identify them, a source in Brazil told ABC News.
This is the deadliest police operation ever carried out in Rio de Janeiro State, police said. The state government said the operation was the largest ever targeting the Comando Vermelho gang for drug trafficking.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was “shocked” by the number of deaths in the operation and surprised that an operation of this scale was undertaken “without the federal government’s knowledge or involvement,” Brazil’s Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said in comments translated by Reuters on Wednesday.
The operation comes ahead of major global events that are being hosted in Brazil in the coming weeks. Next week, Rio will host the C40 summit of global mayors and Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, bringing notable celebrities to the region.
In November, the United Nations climate summit COP30 will take place in Belem, in northern Brazil. The conference starts Nov. 10 and runs through Nov. 21.
The U.N. Secretary General expressed concern about the large number of deaths in the operation, U.N. Secretary General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The Secretary-General is gravely concerned by the large number of casualties during a police operation conducted yesterday in the favelas in Rio de Janeiro,” Dujarric said.
“He stresses that the use of force in police operations must adhere to international human rights law and standards and urges the authorities to undertake a prompt investigation,” Dujarric added.
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