Brazil Police Kill Over 120 in Deadly Gang Crackdown Amid Trophy Head Allegations

Brazilian authorities launched a massive, yearlong-investigation-backed crackdown on the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) in Rio de Janeiro favelas (notably Penha and complexos da Penha/Alemão) ahead of next month’s COP30, resulting in the country’s deadliest anti‑gang operation with at least 119–121 people killed and more than 100 detained. Families and lawyers have accused police of extreme brutality and possible extrajudicial killings — including the mother of a 19‑year‑old who says her son was decapitated and his head hung from a tree “like a trophy,” and reports that some bodies bore burn marks or were tied up — allegations that officials deny or attribute to removal of camouflage and weapons. Officials say officers seized large quantities of weapons and drugs, faced heavy gun battles and drone‑dropped explosives from traffickers, and lost several police in the clashes. State leaders have defended the raids as necessary to confront what they call “narco‑terrorism” and to restore order before COP30, while rights groups, lawyers and residents have raised alarm and called for investigations into abuses. The operation has intensified national and international scrutiny of Rio’s security tactics as investigators, legal complaints and media accounts continue to emerge.