Bloodbath in Rio: What We Know About the Police Operation That Left 119 Dead

Posted by defimedia on Thu 30/10/2025 - 06:22

Residents of a favela in Rio de Janeiro lined up over fifty bodies in a square in their impoverished neighborhood on October 29, following the deadliest police operation in the city’s history, according to AFP.

There are some certainties, but also many questions: Brazil is still trying to understand the deadliest police intervention in its history, which took place on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro against the Comando Vermelho, a drug trafficking gang.

With an official provisional death toll of 119, including four police officers, this mega-operation in the favelas has shed light on the violence plaguing a city known for its beaches and carnival.

Here is what we know and what remains to be clarified.

The Target: Comando Vermelho

The "Containment Operation," as it has been named by the authorities, is aimed at curbing the expansion of the Comando Vermelho (Red Command), the main drug trafficking group in Rio.

About 2,500 agents descended at dawn on two major favela complexes in the north of the city, near the airport: the Complexo da Penha and the Complexo do Alemão, considered the stronghold of this criminal faction.

Founded in the 1970s when political opponents of the military dictatorship mingled with common criminals in a prison located on an island off Rio, the Comando Vermelho also exerts its influence in other Brazilian states.

In Rio, its territorial expansion has surpassed that of paramilitary criminal militias, according to experts.

Death Toll

The Rio state government has reported 119 deaths so far. However, the Public Defender's Office, which provides legal assistance to the underprivileged, counts at least 132 fatalities.

Authorities in Rio have also reported 113 arrests. In total, 91 assault rifles were seized, along with a "large quantity of drugs," the exact amount of which has not yet been disclosed.

Record Lethality

This police operation has proven to be more deadly than the Carandiru massacre in 1992, when 111 inmates were killed during a police intervention to suppress a riot in a prison near Sao Paulo.

In Rio, the previous deadliest operations occurred in 2021 and 2022, when 28 and 25 people died in the favelas of Jacarezinho and Vila Cruzeiro, respectively.

In both cases, Rio de Janeiro was already governed by Claudio Castro, who regarded Tuesday’s operation as a "success."

Measured Reaction from Lula

The operation was planned and carried out by the state security forces of Rio, under the leadership of Governor Castro, an ally of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).

It was conducted "without the federal government being aware," claimed Ricardo Lewandowski, Minister of Justice under leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was "stunned" by the death toll.

Lula asserted on X that his country cannot "accept" organized crime, while calling for "coordinated action that targets the heart of drug trafficking without endangering police, children, and innocent families."

What Remains Unclear

The identities of the deceased have not yet been revealed—except for those of the police officers—making it impossible to determine if they were targeted without a judicial warrant.

The identities of the vast majority of the detainees have also not been disclosed.

According to Brazilian media, one of the suspects arrested is Thiago "Belao" do Nascimento Mendes, described as the right-hand man of "Doca" Alves de Andrade, the alleged leader of Comando Vermelho in several favelas of Rio, who managed to escape.

Some residents have denounced "executions," and a judge from Brazil’s Supreme Court has called for a hearing next Monday for Governor Castro to provide "detailed information" regarding the operation.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Brazilian authorities to "conduct a swift investigation."