Overview
- An official document cited by Folha de S. Paulo indicates Comando Vermelho leaders were alerted at least four hours before the offensive in the Alemão and Penha complexes.
- Despite awareness of the leak, police launched the operation at 6 a.m. with roughly 2,500 Civil and Military Police, resulting in 121 deaths and 81 arrests according to official figures.
- Governor Cláudio Castro later signaled the death toll exceeded initial counts, while some reports describe more than 130 fatalities.
- BOPE formed a “human wall” to contain suspects in the Serra da Misericórdia, highlighting the heavy-force tactics now under scrutiny.
- The Public Security Secretariat has not explained the breach, and an earlier clash in Del Castilho involving about 20 motorcyclists left two suspects dead after admitting they were fleeing an imminent raid.