A 12-hour police operation in a difficult favela in Rio de Janeiro ended Thursday afternoon with 18 dead, including a police officer and a woman who were passing through the area. It is the city’s third deadliest surgery in just over a year. Some 400 agents landed very early in the Complexo do Alemão alfoz to set up a criminal structure dedicated to the theft of cars, trucks and banks. The criminals clashed with the security forces. And the firefight lasted about 12 hours as frightened neighbors fled as best they could to their precarious homes.
The deceased’s friend told the Dirigible report how it happened: “I was at home in Penha [un barrio de Río]and we came here [al Complexo do Alemão] having breakfast with my aunt. At this moment the shooting breaks out. We stopped at a red light and my car was quickly shot at. They punched him in the chest,” he said, still in shock.
Brazilian police are among the deadliest in the world. More than 6,000 people died in its operations last year. Besides four helicopters and ten armored vehicles, several security forces also took part in the attack on Complexo do Alemão. Some agencies, like the Martial Police of São Paulo, place cameras on officers’ uniforms to combat the docile hammer.
Two police officers from Rio during the operation which left 18 dead. Silvia Vinculos (AP)
The Public Defender’s Office has expressed concern about the high number of deaths. He issued a note warning that “there is evidence of serious rights violations, with the possibility that this is one of the operations with the highest death toll in Rio de Janeiro.” The 18 dead were not confirmed until late afternoon. Throughout the day the balance was five, but at the same time images of loved ones of those shot circulated, moving them wrapped in sheets to be treated.
Two months ago, 25 people died in an operation in another Rio neighborhood, in Vila Cruzeiro, and last May the deadliest in the city’s history occurred in the Jacarezinho favela. , with 28 dead.
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According to the Rio Ombudsman, Thursday’s events are similar to those that happened just over a year ago in Jacarezinho, where a uniformed officer also died in the middle of the operation. Data shows that police operations after a police officer is killed tend to be more brutal and result in the killing of more suspects.
A woman from the favela of Alemão demonstrates this Thursday against the police operator in Rio de Janeiro. MAURO PIMENTEL (AFP)
Throughout the day, neighbors spread their fear and stories of the police raid on social media with videos and testimonies. The Police reported a posteriori that the criminals erected fire barricades to prevent the passage of the agents. They still sprinkled the streets with oil to prevent them from invading. Raids with fatalities in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro are relatively frequent. And in the state of the same name, the security forces are the deadliest.
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