A massive police operation in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, has become Brazil’s deadliest law enforcement action, with the death toll climbing to 132 people, according to the state public defender’s office. The raid targeted the notorious Red Command drug trafficking organization in the densely populated favelas of Complexo de Alemão and Penha in northern Rio.
The operation involved approximately 2,500 police officers and soldiers deploying helicopters, armored vehicles, and ground forces across the two neighborhoods, home to an estimated 280,000 residents. Initial reports from Rio state Governor Cláudio Castro placed the death toll at around 60 on Wednesday morning, but the number has risen as forensic work continued. Four police officers were also killed in the clashes.
By early Wednesday morning, distraught residents had collected bodies throughout the night, retrieving them from wooded hillsides and residential areas. They laid more than 50 corpses in a plaza in Penha Complex, arranging them in long rows to demonstrate the scale of the carnage. Hundreds of family members and community members surrounded the bodies, some crying while others screamed accusations of massacre.
Local activist Raull Santiago, who helped recover approximately 15 bodies before dawn, described finding evidence of what he characterized as summary executions. “We saw executed people: shot in the back, shots to the head, stab wounds, people tied up. This level of brutality, the hatred spread – there’s no other way to describe it except as a massacre,” the 36-year-old told reporters.
Governor Castro defended the operation’s legitimacy, asserting those killed were criminals engaged in armed resistance. He noted most clashes occurred in forested areas rather than built-up residential zones, questioning why civilians would be present during active conflict. Castro characterized the violence as narco-terrorism, pointing to gang members’ use of explosive-laden drones to attack police forces as evidence of the threat level.
The operation resulted in 113 arrests, with authorities identifying a leading drug dealer for the Red Command among those detained. Police seized 93 rifles and more than half a ton of drugs during the two-month-long planned raid. Castro described it as a historic day when officers confronted organized crime, posting photos on social media of the fallen police officers.
Residents described warlike conditions throughout Tuesday as heavy gunfire echoed through the narrow, steep lanes of the hillside communities. Suspected gang members blockaded roads by setting at least 70 buses on fire and commandeering them as barriers. Schools across the two neighborhoods closed, affecting 46 institutions, while the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro canceled evening classes and instructed people on campus to shelter in place.
The United Nations Human Rights Office expressed horror at the death toll and called for effective investigations, reminding Brazilian authorities of their obligations under international human rights law. Human Rights Watch director for Brazil César Muñoz called the events a huge tragedy and disaster, urging the public prosecutor’s office to open independent investigations and clarify the circumstances of each death.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed astonishment at the operation’s scale and surprise that federal authorities had not been informed beforehand, according to Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski. Chief of staff Rui Costa requested an emergency meeting in Rio on Wednesday with local authorities and federal officials.
Castro, from the conservative opposition Liberal Party, criticized the federal government for insufficient support in combating organized crime ahead of elections next year. Chief Minister of the Secretariat of Institutional Relations, Gleisi Hoffmann, acknowledged the need for coordinated action but pointed to recent money laundering crackdowns as evidence of federal efforts against criminal organizations.
Rafael Soares, a Brazilian crime journalist, said the operation reflected Castro’s attempt to make a decisive mark against criminal activity before the upcoming elections. The Red Command has expanded its territorial control in recent years, reclaiming areas previously lost to rival gang First Capital Command.
The raid’s timing raised questions among rights groups, coming just days before Rio hosts the C40 World Mayors Summit featuring nearly 100 mayors from leading global cities and Prince William’s Earthshot Prize ceremony on November 5. Previous major police operations in Rio have often preceded significant international events.
While large-scale police raids are not uncommon in Rio’s favelas, operations resulting in more than 20 deaths are considered very rare across Brazil. In 2024, approximately 700 people were killed during police operations in Rio, averaging almost two deaths daily. Previous deadly raids include a March 2005 operation in Baixada Fluminense that killed 29 people and a May 2021 raid in the Jacarezinho favela that left 28 dead.
Public safety expert Luis Flavio Sapori from Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais noted the unprecedented magnitude of casualties, calling them war numbers. He argued such operations prove inefficient because they typically target replaceable underlings rather than organizational masterminds, reflecting what he characterized as a lack of a coherent public security strategy in Rio de Janeiro.
Rio de Janeiro’s Minister for Public Security, Victor Santos, said that: “This is a war we are seeing in Rio de Janeiro. Decades of inaction by all the institutions – municipal, state and federal – have allowed crime to expand in our territory,” Santos said.