At Least 64 Dead in Major Rio Raid Targeting Comando Vermelho Syndicate

At least 64 people were killed and more than 80 arrested in a massive police operation targeting the Comando Vermelho, or Red Command, criminal organization in Rio de Janeiro, Governor Claudio Castro announced on Tuesday. The large-scale raid, described as one of the biggest in the city’s history, involved around 2,500 members of Brazil’s security forces and was concentrated in the Alemao and Penha favela complexes, located near Rio’s international airport.

Governor Castro confirmed that four police officers were among the dead, adding that the authorities remained determined to continue the fight against what he called “narcoterrorism.” On social media, he praised law enforcement for their efforts, saying that the operation demonstrated the government’s resolve in confronting organized crime networks that have long dominated Rio’s most impoverished areas.

According to police reports, one of the individuals captured during the operation was believed to be the “right-hand man” of a senior leader within Comando Vermelho, which remains one of Brazil’s most powerful and violent drug trafficking organizations. Officials said the crackdown, dubbed Operation Containment, aimed to execute 250 search and arrest warrants. It included the deployment of 32 armored vehicles, 12 demolition vehicles to dismantle barricades set up by traffickers, and two helicopters to provide aerial support.

Videos released by the governor showed drones allegedly used by criminal groups to drop explosives on police officers during the raid. “This is how the Rio police are treated by criminals: with bombs dropped by drones,” Castro said, describing the events as proof that the police were facing organized narcoterrorism rather than ordinary crime.

The United Nations human rights office expressed alarm over the operation, saying it was “horrified” by the high death toll and condemning what it described as the persistent pattern of lethal police interventions in Brazil’s marginalized communities. “This deadly operation furthers the trend of extreme lethal consequences of police operations in Brazil’s poor neighborhoods,” the UN said in a statement on social media.

The raid came just days before two major international events scheduled in Rio: the C40 summit of global city mayors and the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony, founded by Prince William to recognize environmental achievements. Both gatherings precede the COP30 global climate summit, which will take place in November in Belem, northern Brazil.

Such large-scale security operations are not new for Rio de Janeiro. Similar heavy-handed raids were carried out in the run-up to international events such as the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Olympics, the G20 summit, and the BRICS meetings. In 2018, amid rising violence, Brazil’s government placed the city’s military police under federal command to curb spiraling crime rates.

Human rights groups have repeatedly warned that such tactics come at a heavy cost. Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch urged Governor Castro to veto a new bill passed by the state legislature offering bonuses to police officers who “neutralize” suspects, saying it could lead to more unlawful killings. “Giving bonuses to police for killings is not only outright brutal but also undermines public security by creating a financial incentive for officers to shoot rather than arrest,” said Cesar Munoz, the organization’s Brazil director.

Authorities described Tuesday’s operation as the largest ever against the Comando Vermelho, underscoring the scale and intensity of the security effort in Rio’s favelas. The government defended the action as necessary to dismantle entrenched criminal networks, even as international observers and rights organizations voiced concern over the mounting civilian and police casualties.