RIO de Janeiro’s cops herded criminals out of favelas and cornered them in the woods in an enormous anti-gang operation that killed over 130 people.
Cops said they strategically surrounded the gangsters before gunning them down in what has been described as the deadliest police action “in the history of the state”.
The raid, reportedly planned for over a year, aimed to crush the Red Command’s territorial expansion.
The gang, Brazil’s oldest criminal faction, emerged from Rio’s prisons during the military dictatorship and now runs major drug and extortion networks across South America.
In a press conference on Wednesday, police chief Marcelo de Menezes explained driving the gangsters into the woods was a key part of their strategy.
From there, the aim was to get them up the area’s highest point, the Serra da Misericórdia.
According to Menezes, forces did this by setting up what is called a “BOPE wall” — a human barricade around the gangsters — and trapped them inside.
He explained: “We deployed the troops across the terrain.
“The difference, compared to the images showing heavily armed criminals seeking refuge in the wooded area, was the incursion of BOPE agents into the highest part of the mountain that separates the two communities.
“This action created what we call the ‘BOPE wall’ — a containment line formed by police officers who pushed the criminals to the top of the mountain,” detailed the PM secretary.”
The primary objective, he added, was “to protect the population and guarantee the safety of the residents”.
Four civilians and four police officers were killed during the operation, which he called “very small collateral damage”.
Chilling images taken from the Penha favela complex show up to 55 corpses laid out under blankets and plastic sheets.
Locals living in the area, one of two targeted by police on Tuesday, were heard applauding as they stood next to the line of bodies.
Others broke down in tears and held onto the lifeless hands of the brutally executed gang members, witnesses said.
Officials are still investigating the bodies to determine if they were killed on Tuesday during the police crackdown.
Slum residents said they found the dozens of bodies covered in bullet and stab wounds in scrublands and forests between the Alemão and Penha favelas.
Police chiefs said the bodies laid out in Sao Lucas Square in the Penha favela did not form part of the official death toll.
The bodies are said to have been laid out in the square so relatives could identify their loved ones.
One woman was pictured crouched down and crying over one of the bodies under a blanket as onlookers watched on with pain etched on their faces.
Glória Alves, 65, who lives in the Palmeiras area of Alemão, said: “There was this volley of shots — so, so many shots. It was horrible.”
Governor Castro’s administration has taken an increasingly hard line against organised crime, but critics say such raids fail to dismantle drug networks.
“What’s different about today’s operation is the magnitude of the victims. These are war numbers,” said public safety expert Luis Flávio Sapori.
Activists accused the government of turning Rio’s poor neighborhoods into war zones.
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“This is not a public safety policy. It’s a policy of extermination,” said the Marielle Franco Institute.
The clashes came just days before Rio hosts the C40 World Mayors Summit and Prince William’s Earthshot Prize — global events linked to the upcoming COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
