Police raids in Brazil’s Rio kill 64 ahead of events related to COP30 climate summit
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Police officers in Rio de Janeiro detaining people on Oct 28, during an operation ahead of COP30-related events in the city.
PHOTO: EPA
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- Rio de Janeiro saw its deadliest police operation ever on Oct 28, resulting in at least 64 deaths in favelas.
- The operation, involving 2,500 security personnel, targeted the Comando Vermelho gang before upcoming global events.
- Governor Claudio Castro defended the operation as confronting "narcoterrorism," while families mourned and services were disrupted.
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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - At least 64 people died on Oct 28 in Rio de Janeiro’s most deadly police operation ever, which targeted a major gang days before the city hosts global events related to the United Nations climate summit known as COP30.
The police have often conducted large-scale operations against criminal groups ahead of major events in Rio, which hosted the 2016 Olympics, the 2024 Group of 20 summit and the Brics summit in July.
Next week, Rio hosts the C40 global summit of mayors tackling climate change and Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, which will feature celebrities including pop star Kylie Minogue and four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel.
The programming is part of the run-up to COP30, which will be held in the Amazon city of Belem
The death toll confirmed by Rio Governor Claudio Castro on Oct 28, which included four police officers, was more than twice that of Rio’s previously most deadly police operation.
“We stand firm confronting narcoterrorism,” Mr Castro wrote on social media about the operation, which he said involved 2,500 security personnel across the Alemao and Penha favela complexes, near the city’s international airport.
Rio’s favelas are poor, densely populated settlements woven through the city’s hilly oceanside terrain.
Smoke rose early on Oct 28 over the iconic skyline as gangs burned cars to slow the advance of armoured vehicles while bursts of gunfire rang out.
The police released videos showing suspects using drones armed with grenades against the police.
The footage also showed armed men fleeing into a forested area near the operation.
After the most intense fighting subsided, a Reuters journalist saw police officers from a special operations unit rounding up dozens of shirtless men.
Sobbing family members gathered outside of a public hospital attending to those injured.
The Oct 28 operation was described by the state government as the largest ever targeting the Comando Vermelho gang.
Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said the federal government had not received any request for support from the state authorities before the “bloody” operation, adding he had been following developments through media reports.
The clashes disrupted the routines of dozens of schools and medical facilities, redirected bus routes and snarled traffic across several neighbourhoods in the state capital.
Mr Castro confirmed 81 arrests as the authorities sought to serve 250 arrest and search warrants in an operation targeting alleged drug kingpins and their money laundering operations.
However, some civil society groups criticised the heavy casualties in a military-style operation.
Ms Carolina Ricardo, executive director at security think-tank Sou da Paz, called it a tragedy.
“This is a completely failed approach because it does not actually target the links in the drug production chain,” she said. REUTERS
