Web Desk; At least 132 people have been killed in what officials describe as the deadliest police operation in Brazil’s history, carried out in Rio de Janeiro just a week before major global climate events in the city.
The Rio public defender’s office confirmed the updated death toll on Wednesday, which is more than double the figure reported by authorities a day earlier. State officials initially said 64 people, including four police officers, had died during the massive anti-drug operation targeting the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) gang.
Residents of the Penha neighbourhood retrieved dozens of bodies from a nearby forest and laid them along the street, forming a grim scene of grief and chaos. “I just want to take my son out of here and bury him,” said a weeping mother, Taua Brito, standing beside rows of bodies covered with sheets and plastic bags.
Rio Governor Claudio Castro defended the operation, saying that those killed were “criminals” engaged in gun battles with police. “I don’t think anyone would be walking in the forest on the day of the conflict. The only real victims were the police officers,” he told reporters.
The raid occurred days before Rio hosts several international events linked to the United Nations climate summit COP30, including the C40 Mayors’ Summit and the Earthshot Prize by Prince William. The timing of the violence has drawn international concern, as Rio previously hosted major events like the 2016 Olympics, the 2024 G20 summit, and the BRICS summit without such large-scale bloodshed.
The Rio state government said this was its largest-ever operation against the Comando Vermelho gang, which dominates the drug trade in several of the city’s favelas — densely populated, low-income communities.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who returned from Malaysia late Tuesday, has yet to issue a public statement on the incident. His justice minister said the federal government had not received any request for assistance from Rio’s state authorities.
Human rights organisations and the United Nations expressed alarm at the scale of the killings. The UN Human Rights Office described the incident as part of a “worrying trend” of lethal police actions in Brazil’s marginalised areas and called for an independent and transparent investigation.
