Rio Favela Raid Kills 119–132, Hundreds Detained

A massive, days-long police operation dubbed Operation Containment targeted the Comando Vermelho in Rio de Janeiro’s Penha and Complexo do Alemão favelas, deploying about 2,500 heavily armed officers with armored vehicles, helicopters and drones. Official and independent counts put the death toll between 119 and 132, including four police officers, making it the deadliest police action in recent Brazilian history. Residents and activists recovered dozens of bodies laid out on streets and in nearby woods, reporting stripped clothing, execution-style gunshot wounds and stab injuries and alleging extrajudicial killings. Authorities said hundreds were detained and that weapons and drugs were seized, while the state governor defended the raids as necessary to weaken gang control. The operation triggered protests and condemnation from the United Nations and rights groups, and President Lula dispatched a ministerial committee and federal forensic support as questions remain about civilian casualties and whether top gang leaders were captured.