Fifth police officer dies after Brazil’s deadliest anti-drug raid
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SAO PAULO - Rio de Janeiro’s Civil Police confirmed on Saturday that another officer wounded in Brazil’s deadliest anti-drug operation has died, bringing the number of police fatalities to five, the highest ever recorded in a single raid in the country.
The operation, carried out on October 28 in the Penha and Alemao favela complexes in the city’s north, left 122 people dead overall.
Governor Claudio Castro has hailed the raid as a success, but human rights groups have condemned the security forces, citing the staggering death toll and what they describe as excessive brutality.
The police operation targeted members of Comando Vermelho, a long-standing criminal organization that maintains a stronghold in Rio and other regions of Brazil. REUTERS
