Lula Calls Rio Police Operation a 'Massacre' as Senate Installs Organized Crime CPI

Overview

• Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered full preservation of evidence and demanded detailed data on force used, casualties and procedures, after meeting Rio authorities in a series of sessions on oversight.
• Governor Cláudio Castro delivered a 26‑page report defending the operation as legal with proportional force, citing about 2,500 officers, 100 arrest warrants and 145 search warrants, major weapons and drug seizures, and noting body‑camera failures under inquiry.
• The Senate elected Fabiano Contarato as CPI president, Alessandro Vieira as rapporteur and Hamilton Mourão as vice president, and approved a work plan to hear governors and cabinet officials and to target money laundering through fintechs, crypto and vulnerable sectors.
• Congress is split between an opposition bill to classify criminal factions as terrorist organizations and the government’s Antifacção proposal creating a specific criminal type with stiff penalties without using the terrorism label.
• Recent polling reported by Brazilian outlets shows most residents in Rio approve the megaoperation and favor tougher penalties, with strong support for harsher measures against factions.