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A mourning individual kisses a shrouded body, following a lethal police operation in Rio de Janeiro on October 29, 2025. — Reuters
– The operation targeted the Comando Vermelho drug gang.
– More than 70 bodies were recovered by local residents.
– The UN calls for an investigation into Brazilian police conduct.
The most deadly police raid in Brazil’s history resulted in at least 132 deaths, according to officials on Wednesday. Residents of Rio de Janeiro lined the streets overnight, displaying dozens of bodies collected after the assault, just a week before major global climate events in the city.
The Rio public defender’s office reported a death toll more than twice the previous figure released Tuesday, which listed at least 64 fatalities, including four police officers. Authorities said the operation aimed at dismantling a significant drug faction.
Rio’s governor, Claudio Castro, explained that the initial counts only included bodies brought to the city’s morgue.
Residents of Penha, seeking relatives lost amid the chaos, gathered many of the bodies from a forested area behind their neighborhood. More than 70 bodies were laid out along the street in the area, some covered with sheets or bags.
“I just want to take my son out of here and bury him,” said Taua Brito, a mother grieving her child, surrounded by mourners and curious onlookers, with some bodies draped in blankets or bags.
Governor Castro expressed confidence that those who died in the raid were criminals, noting that much of the gunfire came from the wooded terrain. “I don’t think anyone would be wandering in the forest during a firefight,” he told reporters.
He added, “The true victims are the police officers.”
This deadly operation came just days before Rio hosts international events tied to the UN climate summit, COP30, including the C40 Mayors Summit on climate change and the Earthshot Prize awarded by Britain’s Prince William.
In recent years, Rio has hosted prominent global events—such as the 2016 Olympics, the 2024 G20 summit, and the BRICS summit in July—without incidents on this scale.
The state government said this was its largest operation ever against the Comando Vermelho, a gang that controls drug trafficking in several of Rio’s impoverished hillside neighborhoods known as favelas.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who arrived in Brasília late Tuesday from Malaysia, has yet to issue a statement. He met with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and cabinet members on Wednesday to discuss the situation. Lula’s justice minister reported that the government had not received any requests for intervention from state authorities.
Various civil society organizations condemned the heavy casualties resulting from the military-style raid. The UN Human Rights Office highlighted a broader pattern of deadly police operations in Brazil’s marginalized communities, urging authorities to conduct prompt and thorough investigations, reminding them of their obligations under international human rights law.
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