A massive police operation against the Comando Vermelho in Rio de Janeiro's Alemão and Penha complexes resulted in at least 121 deaths on Tuesday (28), making it the deadliest in state history. Governor Cláudio Castro defended the action as a success despite the loss of four police officers, while President Lula called for coordinated efforts against organized crime. Federal and state authorities announced the creation of an emergency office to combat factions.
Operação Contenção, launched on Tuesday (28) with around 2,500 agents from the Civil and Military Police, aimed to serve 69 arrest warrants at 180 addresses in the Alemão and Penha complexes, north of Rio de Janeiro. The clash with Comando Vermelho members left 121 dead, including four police officers — two civilians and two from BOPE —, according to the Civil Police tally. Other sources, like the Rio Public Ministry, reported 132 deaths. The operation surpassed the Carandiru massacre (111 deaths in 1992) as Brazil's deadliest involving police forces.
Governor Cláudio Castro (PL) called the operation 'a success,' stating that 'apart from the police lives lost, the rest was a success' and labeling the dead as 'narcoterrorists.' He criticized the lack of federal support, claiming Rio was 'alone in the war.' Victims' families reported irregularities, such as lack of aid and bodies found handcuffed or headless in forested areas, where residents removed about 70 corpses during the night. Security Secretary Victor Santos justified the lack of immediate forensics due to risk and used factors like camouflage clothing and timings to assert the dead were criminals.
In response, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) spoke out for the first time on Wednesday (29), meeting ministers and directing Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski and Federal Police Director Andrei Rodrigues to Rio. Lula advocated 'coordinated work targeting the backbone of drug trafficking without endangering innocents' and referenced the Security PEC under debate in Congress. In a joint press conference with Castro, they announced an emergency office to integrate federal and state forces, with reinforcements from the National Force, PRF, and forensics experts. Lewandowski distinguished factions from terrorism and ruled out GLO for now, but said it would be assessed as needed.
The Rio Public Ministry will investigate each death in parallel, per STF ruling in the Favelas ADPF. Protesters gathered outside Guanabara Palace, calling the action a 'massacre,' while right-wing governors showed solidarity with Castro. The operation seized over 100 rifles and arrested 113 people, including ten adolescents, but experts criticized the lethality without addressing crime's roots.