Rio favela raid turns deadly

A massive police raid on Rio de Janeiro’s Penha and Alemao favelas erupted into a 17-hour gunbattle that left at least 121 people dead, including five police officers, and exposed chaotic planning, possible intelligence leaks and grave obstacles to post‑raid accountability. Authorities said the operation targeted the leadership of the Comando Vermelho gang; police called it a success. Review of officer depositions, witness interviews, police reports and video evidence, however, depicts a botched operation in which leaked warnings and visible troop movements allowed suspects to disperse, officers were drawn into a deadly ambush and the gang’s top command appears to have escaped.

The confrontation began after officers encountered armed men on motorcycles fleeing Alemao. Shortly afterwards police mounted a large raid with dozens of armored vehicles and hundreds of officers. Gang members barricaded streets with burning tires and cars and used the hilly, forested terrain of Serra da Misericordia to mount sustained resistance, while fireworks and other alerts warned residents and signalled the approach of police units. Commandos from Rio’s elite BOPE unit occupied high ground to prevent escapes but were later drawn into rescue efforts when teams serving warrants below came under heavy fire.

Testimony from senior officers describes confusion over shifting timetables—rescheduled launches and repeated delays—and disagreements about troop numbers. Where officials planned for up to 2,500 officers, prosecutors were told only about 1,100 entered the Penha complex that morning. Several units lacked helmets or adequate supplies; dozens of bodycams and drones brought to the scene ran low on batteries as the clash stretched far beyond planned timelines. Officers recount hurried rescue attempts amid intense rifle and sniper fire; drone footage and released clips show wounded colleagues being dragged along dirt tracks and BOPE teams retrieving bodies under threat.

Civilians fled and took shelter as schools and bus services halted and streets were blocked by burned buses. In the aftermath residents and community leaders reported gruesome scenes: dozens of corpses collected by police and residents, some mutilated or missing limbs, and at least one severed head found on Mercy Ridge. Mortuary vans moved bodies before full forensic processing, raising concerns about the integrity of evidence and complicating investigations. Calls from public defenders and rights groups for release of unedited drone and bodycam footage have intensified amid demands for an independent probe.

Officials framed the raid as a blow against organized crime; critics say it failed to dislodge gang control and may have emboldened fighters by allowing leaders to slip away.