Rio’s Deadliest Police Raid Leaves 121 Dead as Governments Launch Joint Crime Office

Overview

• Authorities now confirm 121 fatalities, including four officers, along with 113 arrests and 118 seized weapons after bodies were recovered from the Vacaria forest area.
• Police describe a Bope “wall” tactic to force gunmen into the woods to reduce risk to residents, as locals later lined up bodies in a Penha square and the Civil Police opened an inquiry into suspected evidence tampering.
• Detentions include CV figure Thiago “Belão” Mendes and an alleged finance operator, while top target Edgar “Doca” Andrade remains at large and 33 arrestees came from other states.
• Accountability steps accelerate as the Rio public defender asks the STF to authorize parallel autopsies citing protocol breaches and opposition lawmakers seek a state CPI, while Governor Cláudio Castro says he will meet Moraes on Monday.
• Brasília and Rio announce a new Organized Crime Office as the Federal Police say they declined to take part in the raid, experts urge intelligence-led strategies, and reports cite CV torture orders and an Argentina border alert tied to the faction’s laundering network.