Poll Backs Rio Megaoperation, Governor Outlines Next Steps

Overview

• An Ipsos‑Ipec national survey shows 69% approval of the Oct. 28 operation, with 65% calling its high lethality totally or partially justifiable and 67% saying the state was right to authorize it.
• Governor Cláudio Castro calls the moment a window of opportunity and details plans to remove weapons, clear and demolish barricades, and target the crime economy, while promising accountability for any body‑camera failures.
• Prosecutors informed the Supreme Court of two atypical deaths linked to the action, including a close‑range shot and a decapitation, and depositions indicate fewer than half of elite officers wore body cameras.
• Castro says 121 people were killed and 99 were arrested, argues that residents removed bodies from the forested area hindering forensics, and cites talks with U.S. officials about parts used to assemble rifles.
• Reporting highlights criminal factions’ sophistication—drones dropping grenades, advanced firearms and electronic surveillance—in a region described as a national hub for the Comando Vermelho, as analysts press for prison, intelligence and policing reforms including implementation of SUSP.