Brazilian police officers launched a major operation across several favelas in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, saying they killed at least seven “criminals” during clashes.
The operation was launched at dawn in several of the impoverished neighborhoods in northern Rio as security forces targeted members of the Commando Vermelho narco gang, one of the biggest criminal organizations in the country.
“Seven criminals died in clashes with our teams. Five rifles, three pistols, seven radios … and narcotics were seized and will be accounted for. In addition, three suspects were injured and two arrested,” Rio’s military police wrote on X.
Two police officers were injured in the clashes.
A separate police statement said that intelligence reports had led to the discovery of “a criminal movement in the region which, aside from drug trafficking, is being investigated for vehicle theft.”
The Complexo do Alemao favela was completely blocked off by heavily armed security forces, AFP reporters witnessed.
Rio’s military police published photos of their forces using excavators to remove metal barriers placed by criminals at various entrances to the slum.
The operation led to the suspension of classes that affected some 20,000 students, said Rio city councillor Thais Ferreira.
Police operations against organized crime are common in Rio’s poor neighborhoods, often resulting in gunfights.
The government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has announced a $180 million plan to fight organized crime over the next three years.
Security and rights experts criticize this approach, which they say has an outsized impact on the local population, while barely making a dent against gangs.
In August, 2023, police raids in favelas across Brazil left 44 dead in less than a week.
