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Rio Police Raid on Comando Vermelho Leaves 64 Dead and 81 Arrested

Brasília launches an emergency response that pairs logistical support with scrutiny of the high death toll.

Overview

  • About 2,500 officers stormed the Alemão and Penha complexes to execute roughly 100 arrest warrants using armored vehicles, helicopters and police drones.
  • Authorities say traffickers erected barricades and used drones to drop explosives, forcing transit diversions, school and clinic closures and disrupting services for more than 200,000 residents.
  • The provisional toll includes four police officers, and searches and detainee transfers continued into Wednesday morning, according to state officials.
  • Detainees include alleged CV figures Thiago “Belão do Quitungo” do Nascimento Mendes and Nicolas Fernandes Soares, as police target the gang’s territorial expansion and financing.
  • The federal government held an emergency meeting, offered placements in maximum-security federal prisons and sent senior ministers to Rio, while federal prosecutors and rights groups opened investigations into the use of force.