Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Rio’s Deadliest Police Raid Draws U.N. Condemnation and Supreme Court Scrutiny

A Supreme Court hearing with the governor now looms as officials face questions over 132 reported deaths.

Men carry the bodies of people killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
People protest days after a deadly police operation targeting a drug trafficking gang at the Complexo da Penha favela in Rio de Janeiro, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
An official displays seized weapons with gang insignia during a press conference, which the police said were captured during what was the deadliest police operation in Brazil's history, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 29, 2025. REUTERS/Tita Barros
A priest blesses the bodies of people killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Overview

  • Rio civil police said 99 bodies had been identified by Friday, including 42 people with outstanding arrest warrants and 78 with prior criminal records.
  • Brazil’s public defenders reported 132 deaths from Tuesday’s operation, exceeding the state’s 121 count, with four police officers among the dead.
  • Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered detailed explanations and scheduled a Monday hearing with Governor Cláudio Castro and police leaders.
  • U.N. experts and human rights organizations condemned the killings and called for prompt, independent and thorough investigations.
  • Social movements, labor unions and left-wing parties called protests near the Penha complex as residents and activists alleged torture and extrajudicial executions.