Rio de Janeiro descended into chaos on Tuesday, October 29, 2025, as a massive police operation targeting the city’s most powerful drug trafficking organization left at least 132 people dead in what has become Brazil’s deadliest police raid in history. The military-style operation deployed approximately 2,500 security personnel into the Complexo do Alemao and Penha favelas, sparking intense gun battles that paralyzed large sections of the northern zone.
Among the dead were four police officers and at least 115 suspected gang members, according to state authorities, though Rio de Janeiro’s state public defender’s office placed the total death toll at 132. The operation targeted members of Comando Vermelho, known as Red Command, a criminal organization that originated in Rio’s prison system more than 50 years ago and has recently been expanding its territorial control across the city.
The raid, codenamed “Operation Containment,” involved helicopters, armored vehicles, and officers on foot who faced retaliation from gang members using explosive-laden drones and heavy weapons. Schools shuttered, a local university canceled classes, and buses were commandeered as barricades across affected neighborhoods as the violence unfolded throughout the day.
By Wednesday morning, grief and outrage had gripped the favela communities. Residents recovered dozens of bodies from forested areas bordering the neighborhoods and displayed them in rows in Penha’s main square. Photographer Bruno Itan, who documented the aftermath, described a horrific scene where bodies kept arriving throughout the night. He witnessed mutilated remains, including one decapitated body, while distraught family members searched for missing relatives.
Raquel Tomas told reporters her 19-year-old son was among those killed. “They slit my son’s throat, cut his neck, and hung the head from a tree like a trophy,” she said, her voice shaking as she described what she called an execution rather than a law enforcement action.
Local activist Raull Santiago, part of a team that recovered bodies before dawn Wednesday, reported finding approximately 15 bodies with evidence of executions, including shots to the back and head, stab wounds and victims who had been bound. Many bodies bore what appeared to be knife wounds and showed signs of severe mutilation, according to multiple witnesses.
Rio state Governor Claudio Castro defended the operation at a Wednesday news conference, maintaining that all those killed were criminals who had resisted police. He claimed many of the clashes occurred in wooded areas where civilians were unlikely to be present and suggested residents had tampered with evidence by removing camouflage clothing and equipment from bodies. Castro referred to gang members as narcoterrorists and called the four fallen officers heroes.
Victor Santos, head of security for Rio state, acknowledged the high death toll while defending the operation’s necessity. He indicated that the elevated lethality was expected but not desired, explaining that the situation escalated due to suspects’ retaliation and disproportionate use of force.
The state Public Defender’s Office said civil police did not allow its staff to be present during the autopsies. Several civil society organizations, including Human Rights Watch, asked Rio de Janeiro’s attorney general on Oct. 30 to ensure that a victims’ representative was present during the autopsies. That has not been done.
Police reported seizing approximately 90 rifles and more than a ton of drugs during the operation, along with arresting 113 individuals. Authorities said the raid followed a yearlong investigation into Red Command’s operations, which include drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, and trafficking in gold, fuel, alcohol and tobacco.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. expressed horror at the scale of fatalities, according to Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, who noted the federal government had no advance knowledge of the operation. Lula stated he would not accept organized crime continuing to destroy families and spread violence but called for coordinated efforts that would not endanger police officers, children and innocent families.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres conveyed concern over the death toll, with his spokesman emphasizing that use of force in police operations must adhere to international human rights law. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urged Brazil to implement comprehensive reform of policing methods and break the cycle of extreme brutality, calling for independent investigations and access to justice for affected families.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes summoned Castro to a hearing scheduled for Monday to provide detailed explanations of police actions. Brazil’s Senate announced its human rights commission would begin investigating the structure and operations of organized crime nationwide starting next week.
Cardinal Orani João Tempesta, Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, issued a statement expressing sorrow for the suffering and calling for collective soul-searching. He emphasized that life and human dignity are absolute values and urged residents not to feed hatred or respond with indifference.
On Wednesday, dozens of favela residents gathered outside the state government headquarters, shouting accusations of murder and waving Brazilian flags stained with red paint. Barbara Barbosa, a domestic worker from Penha whose son died in a previous police operation, questioned whether the community faced a death sentence and demanded that authorities stop the killings.
Police raids resulting in deaths are not uncommon in Rio’s favelas. In 2024, approximately 700 people died during police operations across the city, averaging nearly two per day. Rights groups have questioned the timing of large-scale operations, which often precede major international events. Rio will host the C40 World Mayors Summit and Prince William’s Earthshot Prize this week, with Brazil later welcoming world leaders for the United Nations climate summit COP30 in Belem starting Nov. 10.
