Lethal Rio police raid did not loosen gang’s iron grip, residents say

[ad_1] Luiz Fernando Toledo and

Carol Castro, BBC Information Brazil, Rio de Janeiro

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/b9ea/live/9416d0c0-c0a7-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/b9ea/live/9416d0c0-c0a7-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/b9ea/live/9416d0c0-c0a7-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/b9ea/live/9416d0c0-c0a7-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/b9ea/live/9416d0c0-c0a7-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/b9ea/live/9416d0c0-c0a7-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/b9ea/live/9416d0c0-c0a7-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/b9ea/live/9416d0c0-c0a7-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images Police officers escort suspects arrested during the Operacao Contencao (Operation Containment) out of the Vila Cruzeiro favela, in the Penha complex, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 28, 2025. " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP through Getty Photos Police arrested scores of suspected gang members however the gang's chief stays at giant

New particulars which have emerged within the aftermath of Brazil's deadliest police operation are casting doubts over whether or not the raid actually struck on the coronary heart of one of many nation's strongest prison gangs, as was its acknowledged purpose.

100 and twenty one individuals, amongst them 4 cops, have been killed within the raid on 28 October in Rio de Janeiro.

The governor of Rio de Janeiro state, Claudio Castro, described the police operation as "a hit", posting a photograph displaying the greater than 100 rifles seized by police.

However rights teams have sharply criticised the safety forces pointing to the excessive loss of life toll and what they've described because the "brutality" of their actions.

The operation was the most important ever carried out by Rio's safety forces and noticed 2,500 officers deployed to the Alemão and Penha neighbourhoods.

It focused the Comando Vermelho (Purple Command) prison gang, which guidelines over the nine-million-square-metre space.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/ab9e/live/3e861a20-c0a8-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/ab9e/live/3e861a20-c0a8-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ab9e/live/3e861a20-c0a8-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/ab9e/live/3e861a20-c0a8-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/ab9e/live/3e861a20-c0a8-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/ab9e/live/3e861a20-c0a8-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/ab9e/live/3e861a20-c0a8-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ab9e/live/3e861a20-c0a8-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters A drone view shows densely packed homes in the Penha favela complex, where the country's deadliest security operation in modern Brazilian history against drug trafficking was executed, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 4, 2025. A warren of small houses can be made out against the backdrop of green hills. " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Reuters Some 2,500 officers have been deployed within the densely populated areas of Penha and Alemão

Rio's public security secretary, Victor dos Santos, informed Reuters that the aim of the operation had been to hold out scores of arrest warrants issued by prosecutors.

However when BBC Brasil cross-checked the checklist of the deceased printed by police in opposition to the 68 names on the checklist of suspects offered by prosecutors, it discovered that none of them matched.

Native media have additionally identified that regardless that scores of suspects have been arrested in the course of the raid, the person thought-about the gang's strongest chief, Edgar Alves de Andrade, also called Doca, was not amongst them.

"Early studies acknowledged that the aim of the operation was to seize high-ranking leaders of the Comando Vermelho (CV)," Carlos Schmidt-Padilla, professor of public coverage on the College of California, Berkeley, informed BBC Brasil.

"By that metric, it's honest to say the operation failed."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/caae/live/890cb4d0-c0aa-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/caae/live/890cb4d0-c0aa-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/caae/live/890cb4d0-c0aa-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/caae/live/890cb4d0-c0aa-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/caae/live/890cb4d0-c0aa-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/caae/live/890cb4d0-c0aa-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/caae/live/890cb4d0-c0aa-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/caae/live/890cb4d0-c0aa-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="REUTERS/Tita Barros Ten firearms are lined up against a blue background at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro on 29 October. " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> REUTERS/Tita Barros The police displayed among the weapons seized in the course of the raid

At a Senate listening to, the deputy intelligence secretary for Rio's navy police acknowledged that the raid had had a "negligible" impression on dismantling Comando Vermelho.

Residents of the Alemão and Penha have additionally informed the BBC that it has executed little to loosen the tight grip the CV has on their favelas.

How Rio's gangs rule by worry and management

They mentioned that their each day lives had barely modified for the reason that mega-operation, describing seeing armed males roaming the neighborhood the very subsequent day, even because the our bodies of these killed have been nonetheless being eliminated.

Comando Vermelho (CV) and teams prefer it implement strict guidelines within the areas they management.

These prison enterprises have moved past the sale of medicine and now maintain the monopoly for the availability of gasoline, cable tv, web and transport.

Residents report being charged over the percentages for gasoline cylinders, typically having to pay one third greater than in zones not below gang management.

Guidelines imposed by gang members have an effect on on a regular basis life.

As CV has banned vehicles working for ride-hailing apps from getting into the favelas, locals are restricted to utilizing bike taxis and vans which have been authorised by the gangs to function there.

Even individuals's clothes is policed by the gang. In 2020, residents of Penha have been informed to not put on Chelsea soccer shirts.

On the time, the jerseys have been sponsored by British telecoms firm Three, however CV members didn't just like the quantity being prominently displayed as a result of it reminded them of a rival gang which occurred to have the quantity three in its title: Terceiro Comando Puro (Pure Third Command).

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/d829/live/1e5c8030-c0a9-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/d829/live/1e5c8030-c0a9-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/d829/live/1e5c8030-c0a9-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/d829/live/1e5c8030-c0a9-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/d829/live/1e5c8030-c0a9-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/d829/live/1e5c8030-c0a9-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/d829/live/1e5c8030-c0a9-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/d829/live/1e5c8030-c0a9-11f0-8ef8-bf132581f35b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Getty Images A detailed view of the Three logo is seen on the shirt of a Chelsea player during the Premier League match in 2022" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Getty Photos Members of CV ordered locals to not put on Chelsea shirts

Punishments for what are thought-about transgressions are extraordinarily harsh. Being caught stealing can imply dropping a hand or being burned alive.

Gang members "sit in judgement" over home violence instances and people discovered responsible are overwhelmed and even executed.

Residents are forbidden from participating in relationships with members of rival factions or with cops.

Additionally they know to not {photograph} or movie drug dens or any of the armed males driving by their neighborhood.

However with cell phone use ubiquitous, even gangs as highly effective as Comando Vermelho wrestle to manage what will get posted on-line.

In Rocinha, a favela below CV management, gang members vowed to kill those that leaked a 2020 video displaying a CV chief surrounded by rifles and machine weapons.

When somebody insists on "inflicting hassle", the group typically resorts to assault and torture.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/327a/live/e03d86e0-c0a9-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/327a/live/e03d86e0-c0a9-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/327a/live/e03d86e0-c0a9-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/327a/live/e03d86e0-c0a9-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/327a/live/e03d86e0-c0a9-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/327a/live/e03d86e0-c0a9-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/327a/live/e03d86e0-c0a9-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/327a/live/e03d86e0-c0a9-11f0-a18a-95a39ab23d99.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP via Getty Images Gangs like CV impose strict rules on the neighbourhoods they control, like this one in the city in Belem." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP through Getty Photos Graffiti on a wall reads in Portuguese "Stealing forbidden, CV"

Police investigation information on Comando Vermelho, seen by the BBC, include disturbing photos.

One exhibits a girl forcibly submerged in an ice tub, accompanied by a caption accusing her of being "aggressive" and "inflicting hassle".

Reviews of rising violence and increasing territorial management by Comando Vermelho shaped the premise of the grievance filed by Rio's Public Prosecutor's Workplace which led to the large police operation on 28 October.

And whereas rights teams labelled it a "bloodbath" and questioned its effectiveness, Rio de Janeiro State Governor Claudio Castro has introduced that extra operations in opposition to organised crime will observe.

A ballot carried out by AtlasIntel means that Castro's approval score has risen for the reason that raid, and at 47% now stands larger than that of the president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.