Rio’s Deadliest Police Raid Exposes Brazil’s Growing War Within

At least 64 people, including four police officers, were killed this week in what’s now the deadliest police operation in Rio de Janeiro’s history. The scale of violence, centered in the city’s northern favelas, has reignited debate over Brazil’s decades-long “war on crime,” which critics say increasingly resembles a war on the poor.

Governor Claudio Castro took to video on Tuesday to defend the crackdown, known as Operation Containment, framing it as a victory for public safety. “What do we want? A Rio de Janeiro and a Brazil free of crime,” he said. “And we will not retreat, because we believe the more public safety works, the freer you and your family will be.”

According to Castro, 81 people were detained and 60 “alleged criminals” were “neutralised.” More than 2,500 officers took part, many arriving in armored vehicles and helicopters, delivering over 250 arrest and search warrants. Yet as bullets ripped through the Alemao and Penha favela complexes, bystanders were reportedly hit, and entire neighborhoods were paralyzed by gunfire.

Officials described the operation as a strike against Comando Vermelho, the Red Command, Rio’s most powerful drug-trafficking group. The state government called it “the largest ever initiative” to target the gang’s leadership and territorial expansion. But for many in Rio, it’s another chapter in a grimly familiar story: state violence justified in the name of security, often leaving civilians to pay the highest price.

Comando Vermelho has dominated Rio’s underworld since the 1980s, when it aligned with Colombian cartels to move cocaine through the Amazon. Today, Brazil is the world’s second-largest consumer of cocaine after the U.S., a fact that has made the country both a transit hub and a battlefield. In 2023 alone, authorities recorded 180,000 cocaine-trafficking incidents and seized nearly 130,000 kilograms of the drug.

Police raids in Rio’s favelas are common, and frequently fatal. Roughly 700 people died during police operations in 2024, almost two per day. The 2021 Jacarezinho raid killed at least 25, leaving homes pockmarked with bullets and streets running red. Yet the operations persist, even as human rights groups question their legality and timing.

Critics note that such large-scale raids often coincide with political milestones or international events. Next week, Rio hosts the C40 World Mayors Summit and Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, followed by the UN’s COP30 climate summit in Belem.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who announced his re-election bid last week, faces mounting pressure from conservatives who accuse his administration of being soft on crime. For Castro, a right-wing governor, Operation Containment doubles as a campaign statement.