The day after the deadliest police operation in the history of Rio de Janeiro, a public organization reported this Wednesday, October 29, at least 132 deaths, while residents recovered dozens of bodies, sobbing and angry.
Brazil is in shock after the day before’s raids against drug trafficking in Complexo da Penha and Complexo do Alemao, large groups of favelas located in the north of Rio.
“According to our latest figures, the death toll is 132,” the services of the Public Defender’s Office, a body in the state of Rio that offers legal assistance to those most in need, told AFP.
Governor Claudio Castro stated for his part that the official results of the operation, which he described as a “success”, number around sixty dead: 54 alleged criminals and four police officers.
But he warned that this “would change” since deaths are only counted when they arrive at the morgue.
The largest police operation ever seen in the city took place on Tuesday, mobilizing 2,500 law enforcement officers against the Comando Vermelho, Rio’s main criminal group, which operates in favelas, densely populated working-class neighborhoods.
Dozens of remains recovered by residents were placed on Wednesday near one of the main access roads to the Complexo da Penha, AFP journalists confirmed. The smell of corpses was suffocating.
“Murdered in cold blood”
“The State came to carry out a massacre. It is not an operation, they came directly to kill,” a sobbing woman shouted into the AFPTV microphone, with her hand placed on the face of a young man whose body was covered with a green sheet.
In this square we could see the corpse of a decapitated man and another completely disfigured.
Some neighbors denounce “executions.” “Many of them were killed with a shot in the neck, a shot in the back,” Raull Santiago, an activist who lives in the neighborhood, told AFP.
“We see burn marks, people tied up. Some surrendered, but they were murdered in cold blood,” says lawyer Albino Pereira Neto, who represents three families who lost one of their members.
The bodies were then wrapped in body bags and taken to the forensic institute.
On Tuesday, Rio, Brazil’s main tourist center, famous for its beaches and its vibrant carnival, experienced scenes of war.
Chaos
Throughout the day, bursts of intense gunfire were heard and thick columns of smoke rose from many places in the favelas targeted by the operation, which plunged much of the city into chaos.
Schools suspended classes, public transportation was severely disrupted, and thousands of residents were stranded, unable to return to their homes.
The state governor, Claudio Castro, ordered increased patrols throughout the state, particularly on the main expressways, accesses to the metropolitan region and public transportation.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said he was “horrified” by the results of Tuesday’s operation and called for “swift investigations.”
The effectiveness of this type of operations is the subject of constant questioning.
“It is irrational to think that by killing young people involved in crime we can put an end to it when criminal groups have an inexhaustible supply of labor,” sociologist Carolina Grillo told AFP. “We must fight smarter, attacking, for example, their finances or weapons supply.”
President Lula spoke
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is “dismayed” by the results of the police operation that left more than a hundred dead in Rio de Janeiro, his Justice Minister said Wednesday.
“The president was stunned by the death toll and surprised that an operation of this scale was implemented without the knowledge of the federal government,” Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said in Brasilia.
The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, said he was “very concerned” about the results of the police operation that left more than a hundred dead in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this Wednesday through his spokesperson.
“The Secretary General is very concerned about the large number of victims (…) He emphasizes that the use of force in police operations must be carried out in accordance with international human rights law and standards and calls on the authorities to quickly carry out an investigation,” Stéphane Dujarric told the press.
Source: BFM TV
