At least 119 people, including four police officers, were k!lled in a massive anti-drug raid in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The d€adly operation has drawn outrage, with activists calling it a massacre.
At least 119 people were k!lled during a police operation against drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, sparking outrage and calls for an independent investigation into what activists described as a massacre.
Authorities confirmed on Wednesday that 115 suspected gang members and four police officers died in Tuesday’s raid, which involved about 2,500 police and soldiers across two low-income neighborhoods. The d€ath toll was nearly double the initial figure released by officials.
Police spokesman Felipe Curi said more bodies were later discovered in a nearby forest, claiming the suspects had worn camouflage and exchanged gunfire with security forces. He alleged that some residents tampered with evidence by removing clothing and gear from the d€ad.
Residents of Penha, one of the affected neighborhoods, gathered around several bodies displayed in a square, chanting “massacre” and “justice” before forensic teams arrived. Witnesses said many victims had gunshot wounds to the head or back, suggesting extrajudicial k!llings.
Authorities reported 113 arrests, the seizure of 93 rifles, and over half a ton of drugs. Rio Governor Claudio Castro defended the operation, calling it a battle against “narco-terrorism,” but rights groups and the United Nations criticized the level of force used.
Local activist Raull Santiago said, “We saw executed people shot in the back, tied up, stabbed. There’s no other way to describe it except as a massacre.”
While the Rio state government insisted the victims resisted arrest, critics argued that such operations rarely yield lasting results. Favela rights advocate Filipe dos Anjos warned that organized crime would quickly regroup, saying, “In thirty days, the gangs will be back, doing what they always do.”
The Justice Ministry said it had repeatedly renewed federal troop deployments in Rio, countering the governor’s claim that the state was fighting the war on its own. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration has called an emergency meeting to address the growing security crisis.
