Rio de Janeiro authorities report 117 narco-terrorists killed, highlight police planning: Video
Rio de Janeiro authorities defended a major police operation this week that killed over 100 suspected Comando Vermelho members, describing it as a planned, intelligence-led effort against "narco-terrorists."
Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Secretary of the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, Felipe Curi, said that 117 suspects were "neutralised" during Operation Contention, and that most of them had serious criminal backgrounds.
“117 narco-terrorists were neutralised. So far, 99 have been identified. Of these, 42 had pending arrest warrants. Among the rest, 78 had a significant criminal record for various serious crimes such as murder, drug trafficking, robbery, among others,” Curi stated.
The operation took place in the Penha and Alemão complexes, areas authorities describe as strongholds of Comando Vermelho — one of Brazil’s most powerful drug trafficking organisations. According to Curi, the action was aimed at dismantling the group’s local command structure.
The state’s Secretary of Security, Victor Santos, praised the coordination and intelligence work behind the operation and expressed solidarity with injured officers and the families of those affected.
“My presence here is, in fact, once again to reinforce the work of the police, to commend the planning and intelligence that served as the basis for the operation to unfold as planned, and to provide support, obviously, to the families of the police officers who died and those still hospitalised. One officer lost a leg. Three colleagues remain in serious or critical condition,” Santos said.
Operation Contention involved around 2,500 officers and was aimed at serving over 100 arrest warrants. The death toll has prompted concern from human rights groups, while the state government continues to defend the operation as a necessary response to organised crime in Rio’s favelas.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
