Overview
- Rio de Janeiro authorities displayed an arsenal seized in the Oct. 28 operation in Alemão and Penha, calling it the state’s most lethal raid in years with more than 120 dead, 2,500 agents deployed and 113 arrests.
- Police inspector Vinicius Domingos confirmed one seized rifle is an Argentine Armed Forces FAL, with other weapons traced to Brazil, Venezuela and Peru among 118 firearms, including 91 rifles.
- Brazilian and Argentine investigators are examining whether the FAL matches one of 43 rifles stolen from Batallón 603 in 2010–2011, a case reactivated in June 2025 with seven military personnel processed and an appeals ruling expected next week.
- Families and rights groups allege extrajudicial killings and demanded an independent inquiry, as the UN and Human Rights Watch sought explanations and protesters in Rio de Janeiro decried delays in identifying and releasing bodies.
- Officials cited land routes through Paraguay and the Triple Frontier for much of the weapons flow, and a principal target, Edgard Alves de Andrade (“Doca da Penha”), was not captured.