Brazilian Police Raid Leaves 19 Dead in Rio de Janeiro

On Thursday, at least 18 civilians were killed during a police raid at the Morro do Almao favela in Rio de Janeiro, where militarized security forces entered looking for members of a gang dedicated to assaulting banks, cars, and cargo vehicles. One police officer also died.

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Nearly 400 agents and members of the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) took part in the operation, supported by 10 armored vehicles and 4 helicopters, which were attacked from the ground with long range weapons.

From early Thursday afternoon, social networks showed residents carrying several bloodied bodies wrapped in sheets out of the favela. However, only until late at night did the authorities confirm the death of 19 people.

The magnitude of the events set off alerts from the Public Defender's Office and other human rights organizations, since this is not the first time that the actions of the Rio de Janeiro police have left a high number of corpses.

The tweet reads, "Brazil's long-lasting war at the German's Hill."

In May 2021, a police operation carried out in the Jacarezinho neighborhood left 28 people dead, the highest figure in the history of Rio de Janeiro. Then, a year later, 25 people died as a result of an operation in Vila Cruzeiro.

According to Rio de Janeiro's Ombudsman, the events that occurred this Thursday are similar to those that happened in Jacarezinho, where police brutality was also evident.

Police Deputy Fabricio Oliveira responded by pointing out that "if there are criticisms and complaints about police actions, they will be investigated. However, what we are saying is that criminals are forcing part of the population to cause disorder during police action."