Over 64 Killed After Police Raids Against Drug Gangs in Rio

At least 64 people were killed after police initiated a massive plan to eliminate drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro, leading to clashes between gangmembers and police.

Drug trafficking remains a huge problem in Rio, with huge gangs fighting for control over the city's slums, known as favelas. Gangs often hold battles within the favelas themselves, injuring innocent people on the streets, and police operations end up doing the same.

Yesterday, early in the morning, over 2,500 police officers arrived in the favelas of Alemão and Penha, hoping to crack down on the Comando Vermelho, or Red Command– one of the city's most notorious drug gangs. According to authorities, they investigated possible suspects and more information about the gang for over a year before conducting their operation. However, as authorities arrived, the group engaged in violent resistance, creating chaos across the favelas at 4 am, when many civilians had been sleeping.

Gangmembers quickly responded with gunfire before setting barricades and cars on fire, sparking more fear among citizens. Then, according to some reports, the gang initiated the use of drones, which were used to drop explosives on police cars– something that has never happened before.

Several hours later, the situation calmed down slightly, allowing the bodies to be counted– the conflict left at least 64 people dead. Of those 64 people, four were police officers, but it was not exactly clear how many were innocent civilians and how many were gangmembers. Nevertheless, the government later announced that anyone who was killed had resisted their arrival, suggesting that they were involved with the Red Command. 81 additional suspects were arrested, and police managed to seize 93 automatic rifles and a half-ton of drugs following the operation.

The Red Command continued to spark chaos, though, stealing dozens of city buses to create blockades on major roads across the city. Schools and universities were shut down as well, disrupting life for people across the city.

While battles like this between police and gangs are common in Rio de Janeiro, yesterday's conflict was the city's deadliest-ever– the previous holder of the grim statistic had been an operation from 2021 had been the deadliest, having killed 28 people.

Human rights activists and locals asserted that violent crackdowns on drugs are not the way to eliminate these drug gangs, as they end up killing innocent victims and simply spark more hate against the police. Civilians within the favelas claim that the drug trade depends on the poverty of the people, and none of the drugs or guns are actually manufactured in Rio. They believe that the Brazilian government should focus on shutting down the sources of these drugs and weapons, preventing them from reaching the favelas in the first place.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian government believes that these crackdowns are the right way to go, eliminating the very people that distribute the drugs and engage in narco-terrorism within favelas. In fact, Rio de Janeiro's governor, Cláudio Bomfim de Castro e Silva, stated that he believed they should have brought even more firepower to the operation, possibly involving the military.

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Image credit to Reuters