On 29 October, a police raid on a Rio de Janeiro plaza left more than 130 people dead, including four officers, in what authorities have called the most lethal operation in the city’s history.
Bloodiest Police Operation in Brazil
On Wednesday, 29 October, the media reported a shocking police raid on a Rio de Janeiro plaza. Reuters stated that at least 132 people, including four officers, were killed in the operation.
The raid, which police said targeted the main narcotics gang, had been planned for over two months. It was designed to force suspects to flee to a wooded hill where a special unit had arranged an ambush.
Security chief Victor Santos told a press conference that the high fatality rate was anticipated but unwanted. Governor Claudio Castro called the action “the biggest in the city’s history.” Reuters described the operation as “the bloodiest police operation in Brazilian history.”
Macabre scene on Rio streets
During the night, residents of Rio de Janeiro discovered dozens of bodies on nearby wooded ground and placed them on the streets.
The United Nations Office of Human Rights expressed “outrage” at the police operation and demanded an independent investigation. “We remind authorities of their obligations under international human rights law and call for prompt, thorough investigations,” the Office said.
Governor Claudio Castro asserted that those killed were criminals hiding in the forest and stated, “We can treat what was done yesterday as the beginning of a great effort, the start of a new era in which everyone will unite, everyone will be able to cooperate, and we will create good conditions to free Rio residents.”
