At least nine people were killed in a major police operation in several poor neighborhoods in the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro.
Two police officers were injured and five people were arrested, Brazilian media such as the news portal “G1” reported unanimously. According to police, the dead were criminals. Due to the operation, many schools with thousands of students were closed and residents did not leave their houses for fear of shots being fired.
According to the “G1” report, the police, who were supported by the Bope special unit, wanted to arrest the heads of the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) crime syndicate, who were said to have hidden in the slum. The criminals had set up barricades of vehicles and set fire to them, which had to be cleared by the police.
In Rio’s slums, numerous people are repeatedly killed in police operations. Powerful gangs there are fighting for control of drug trafficking and protection rackets. In 2021, police killed at least 28 suspected drug gang members in the Jacarezinho favela in the bloodiest operation in Rio’s history.
