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Rio’s Police Raid: A Call For Accountability.


On 28 October 2025, a massive police operation was carried out in the northern favelas (slums) of Alemão and Penha, located in Rio de Janeiro, targeting the criminal organisation known as Comando Vermelho (Red Command). The operation, under the name of Operation Contenção (Operation Containment), was reported as the deadliest police action in the city’s history. As residents described it, “This was a slaughter, not an operation".


In the early hours of Tuesday, 2500 police officers and military agents entered two complexes in the North of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) with armored vehicles, helicopters and heavy equipment, aiming to arrest members of the local drug-trafficking gang Comando Vermelho. The operation quickly escalated into street fights, barricades, gunfire and reports of drones being used to fire projectiles. In the two days after the operation (October 30th, 2025), the reported deaths were at least 130, including 4 police officers. What was described as Rio’s deadliest police raid does not represent a unicum. The city has a history of police brutality, as in 2021 there was another raid in Jacarezinho. That time, 28 people were murdered.


The state security forces of Rio de Janeiro, alongside military police units, spearheaded the operation following Governor Cláudio Castro’s will to stop the expansion of Comando Vermelho and combat “narco-terrorism”. According to him, the operation was a success, and as he stated in a morning press conference, “Yesterday we delivered a hard blow to crime and showed that we are capable of winning battles”. However, many activists and human rights campaigners, like church leader Antonio Carlos Costa, publicly denounced Castro’s conduct and beliefs, being an ally of Bolsonaro (Brazil’s former far-right president). Costa referred to the killings as “a historic humiliation” for Brazil, happening days before the hosting of the UN climate summit (COP30) that will take place in Belém (Brazil).


In a joint statement, thirty NGOs described the operation as “clear evidence of the failure of security policies in Brazil”. Alongside that, the international community and human rights bodies agree that this brutal event hides a pattern of racialised policing and impunity, as most of the inhabitants of those neighbourhoods were people of African descent: residents reported homes being raided without showing warrants and cases of arbitrary arrests.


Regarding this issue, a report was published by the OHCHR early this year (January 3rd 2025) that presented findings of the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement. The body was established in July 2021 by the Human Rights Council to provide effective remedies for cases of excessive use of force committed by police officers against people of African descent.


The visit aimed to examine positive initiatives and main obstacles faced by Brazil in the context of preventing discrimination within the criminal justice system. The evidence found was regarding Brazil’s police culture and public security strategies, rooted in repression and hypermasculinity. Each year, police forces kill more than 6.000 people, mostly of African descent. As stated, “These killings – often in operations targeting “criminals” - are widespread and systematic, functioning as a form of social cleansing against marginalised groups”.


The United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms have repeatedly raised concerns about the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials in Brazil. The police raid in Rio highlights the need for concrete action in order to ensure that cases of police brutality will no longer operate without transparency and accountability. The international community’s vision emphasises the necessity to begin an independent investigation, ceasing every form of ongoing human rights violations and ensuring the protection of witnesses and human rights defenders.


The OHCHR experts wrote to the Brazilian Government about their concerns, urging the adoption of emergency measures without delay, and requesting reparation for the victims and their families. Executive director of Amnesty International in Brazil, Jurema Werneck, condemned the operation and denounced the misinformation regarding the success of the operation and its illegality, stating that Governor Castro “encourages all actions outside the law”. Amnesty International has committed to providing assistance to those affected and pursuing legal accountability for the authorities. Only by combining security with justice and accountability the cycle of violence will end, giving the residents of Rio’s favelas a genuine hope for the future.


Official Sources:


written by Giada Renzetti

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