🔗 Share this article

Bruno Itan

A reporter who documented the consequences of a massive law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has described how residents returned with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The casualties "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness stated. Among them were those of police officers.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he reported. Many also had evidence of knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were killed during the security action against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness reported that he was first alerted concerning the action in the early hours by residents from the Alemão area, who sent him messages telling him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness made his way to the healthcare center, where the bodies were arriving.

The photographer stated that law enforcement prevented journalists from entering the operation zone, where the operation were taking place.

"Law enforcement personnel formed a line and said: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in the community, reported he succeeded to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he continued until the next morning.

He reported that evening, community members began to search the mountainous area that separates Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for family members whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Community members living in Penha proceeded to place the discovered victims in a square - the photographer's images show the reaction of those present.

"The brutality of it all impacted me profoundly: the pain of the families, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, sobbing, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of Rio state stated that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 security personnel was aimed at preventing a gang known as Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

Initially, state authorities claimed that sixty individuals along with four officers" lost their lives in the operation.

They have since said that early calculations suggests that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has estimated the final tally of people killed as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has been able to expand its territory across the region.

It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, alongside First Capital Command, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

Per reporter an expert, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio over many years, Red Command "functions as a network" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and becoming "commercial associates".

The gang engages primarily in drug trafficking, but also smuggles guns, gold, fuel, alcohol smoking products.

Based on official reports, gang members have substantial firearms and police said that during the raid, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The official of the state, the government representative, labeled Red Command members as criminal extremists and referred to the security forces killed in the raid as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the security action has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities stating they were "shocked".

During a press briefing the following day, Governor Castro justified security actions.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We wanted to take suspects into custody without harm," he stated.

He added that the circumstances worsened as the individuals fought back: "It resulted of the resistance they carried out and the overwhelming response by those criminals."

The governor also said that the victims displayed by locals in the neighborhood were "altered".

Through a message on social media, he claimed that particular individuals had been stripped of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force further reported that tactical gear, body armor, and weapons" were stripped from the bodies and showed footage apparently demonstrating a man stripping military attire {off a corpse