The bloodiest police operation in its history Brazil unfolded yesterday Wednesday (29.10.2025) in his favelas Rio de Janeiroleaving behind her 132 dead and dozens of arrests.
The gigantic operation, which took place on Tuesday, October 29, 2025 in the district of Vila Cruzeiro, in Brazil, as part of the demolition of major gang Comando Vermelho, characterized by the authorities as the largest ever held in the city. Overall 88 people were arrested, while armored vehicles and heavily armed divisions were used. Residents of Rio de Janeiro placed in a street dozens of corpses which they had collected during the previous night.
The tally from Rio’s public defender’s office is more than double the death toll released on Tuesday, when state authorities said at least 64 were dead, including four police officers. The raids targeted a major drug-trafficking gang, the state government said.
At the same time, gang members reacted by taking over 50 city buses, which they turned into barricades, while dozens of cars were engulfed in flames.
The operation occurred just days before the International Climate Conference in Belem (November 10–21), a fact that many observers see as no coincidence. As international media remind, similar “cleansing” operations have taken place in the past before international events – typically before the 2016 Olympic Games.
Despite the authorities’ triumphant announcement, many questions remain unanswered: how exactly the operation unfolded, whether civilians were among the victims, and who ultimately bears responsibility for the heavy toll.
A government official admitted, however, that the main goal of arresting a top gang leader was not achieved.
The main purpose of the operation was to limit the territorial spread of the Comando Vermelho criminal organization (“Red Administration”).
According to authorities, preparations for the operation had begun more than a year earlier and mobilized more than 2,500 police and military personnel.
Scenes of war in the favelas – “Not even in Gaza do these things happen…”
Comando Vermelho, founded in the 1970s inside Brazilian prisons, is the country’s oldest active criminal organization. Its name – “Red Administration” – refers to its roots, when its members were political prisoners of the military dictatorship (1964–1985).
Since then, the organization has grown into a massive criminal network, with activities ranging from drug trafficking to extortion. In recent years it has faced both increasing state repression and rival militias.
The images transmitted by the residents of Vila Cruzeiro are reminiscent of war scenes. Burnt buses, gunshots that echoed for hours and streets littered with debris.
“I have never seen anything like this in my life. This doesn’t happen in the Gaza Strip either… I can’t bear to see any more dead bodies.” declared the president of the community with tears in his eyes, wearing the gloves he used to collect the dead.
According to the police, the gang members used drones with explosives to attack the security forces. The shootings, according to residents, continued until late at night.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “deep concern” at the report, calling for an independent investigation under international law.
President Lula’s resounding message
Brazil’s president today sent a resounding message about the fight against organized crime, calling for concerted action to protect the safety of police officers and citizens in the wake of a deadly police operation in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas.
“We cannot accept that organized crime will continue to destroy families, oppress residents, promote drugs and violence in the cities,” Lula said in a post on the X platform.
I met this morning with ministers from my government and ordered the Minister of Justice and the director general of the Federal Police to go to Rio to meet with the governor.
We cannot accept that organized crime continues to destroy families, oppress residents and…
— Lula (@LulaOficial) October 29, 2025
“Coordinated action is needed to target the backbone of drug trafficking, without endangering police officers, children and innocent families,” the Brazilian president said.