Wednesday 29 / October / 2025
A large-scale narcotics operation against the Comando Vermelho, or Red Command, crime syndicate in Rio de Janeiro led to 81 arrests, 60 dead suspects and four dead police officers, Rio Governor Claudio Castro said on Tuesday.
"We stand firm confronting narcoterrorism," Castro wrote on social media as he announced the operation.
He said that 2,500 security personnel were deployed across the impoverished and densely populated Alemao and Penha favela complexes on the outskirts of the Brazilian city, near the international airport.
"Regrettably, police officers were also among the dead," Castro told a press conference later in the day.
State police said one suspect collared was the "right-hand man" of "one of the leaders" of Comando Vermelho.
The UN human rights office said Tuesday it was "horrified by the ongoing police operation" in Rio de Janeiro.
"This deadly operation furthers the trend of extreme lethal consequences of police operations in Brazil's marginalized communities," the UN human rights office posted on X.
Major police action as climate events near
Operation Containment, as authorities dubbed it, took place days before a pair of major events in the city prior to the COP30 global climate summit taking place far to the north of Rio in Belem, starting on November 10.
Brazil's second most populous city will host two warm-up events next week: the C40 summit, bringing together mayors from more than 100 of the world's major cities; and British heir to the throne Prince William's Earthshot Prize, awarded to five winners each year for their contributions towards environmentalism.
That ceremony will feature celebrities, including pop singer Kylie Minogue and German four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel.
