A police operation in Rio de Janeiro’s Complexo da Penha favela on Oct. 28 resulted in the deaths of 122 people, including five police officers, making it the deadliest police operation in Brazilian history.
The Raid on Complexo da Penha
Juliana Conceição was startled awake as the first shots rang out in the Complexo da Penha, the labyrinthine Rio favela where she was born and raised. Thousands of police surrounded the community’s barricaded entrances at 4:30 a.m., preparing to move through the streets on foot and in armored personnel carriers.
Clouds of smoke filled the air as drug traffickers torched tires and cars, opening fire from above. “It was like the shooting was inside our house … like we were in the middle of a war,” Conceição said, sheltering indoors as her neighborhood became a battleground.
By nightfall, Ronaldo Julião da Silva, Conceição’s ex-husband, was found dead in a nearby alley, one of 117 non-police fatalities. Authorities have insisted all of those killed were criminals.
Silva’s place of death was recorded as Saint Luke Square, but he actually died half a mile away while trying to reach his home. “My dad wasn’t a crook. My dad was a worker,” said his 20-year-old daughter, Ana Beatriz.
Three months after the operation, many questions remain. Police chiefs and rightwing politicians celebrated the incursion as a blow to the Rio-born Red Command drug faction, but activists, security experts, and even Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have called it a futile massacre.
Key Findings of the Investigation
- At least one person killed was not involved in crime, despite official claims.
- The list of arrest warrants did not include the names of the 117 non-police fatalities.
- The majority of those killed were from outside Rio, including the Amazon states of Amazonas and Pará.
Police refused to disclose the race of those killed, but relatives and journalists reported that the vast majority were Black, reinforcing research showing police violence disproportionately affects Afro-Brazilians.
Tracking ‘the Bear’
Lt. Kelly Patricia Camara da Silva, a member of a specialist military police unit, woke at 3 a.m. on Oct. 28, unaware she was about to face the most dangerous undertaking of her three-year career. Police were preparing to launch an assault on the Complexo da Penha, considered the Red Command’s “national headquarters.”
One hundred arrest warrants had been issued, with the primary target being Edgar Alves de Andrade, known as “the Bear.” Police estimated the area was guarded by 800-1,000 traffickers armed with automatic rifles, explosives, and grenade-launching drones. 2,500 officers were deployed – more than twice as many as in past operations.
Silva’s team was among the first to enter the Complexo da Penha, tasked with climbing the favela’s steep alleyways to contain armed resistance. “The higher you go, the riskier it gets,” Silva said.
‘We’re Surrounded!’
Erivelton Vidal Correia, a community leader, took refuge at Vila Cruzeiro’s neighborhood association as the battle raged. He served coffee and comforted women receiving desperate messages from loved ones: “We’re surrounded! We’re trapped! The police are here!”
Tauã Brito, whose 20-year-old son, Wellington Brito Santos, was hiding in the forest, received a text from him at 4:45 a.m. warning her of the police arrival. Santos was later filmed climbing a staircase towards Vacaria, a scrubland area.
‘The Wall’
Under the cover of darkness, dozens of officers from the Bope unit positioned themselves on the Hill of Mercy to prevent traffickers from escaping. At about 9:40 a.m., a group of heavily armed criminals were filmed climbing towards Vacaria.
At around 4 p.m., a member of the dog unit was shot in the leg. An hour later, civil police officers were attacked, resulting in injuries and fatalities. The Bope team abandoned their positions to rescue their colleagues.
Chaos in the Woods
As police advanced through the forest, Sgt. Jorge Martins was struck in the calf. Two other Bope officers died from gunshot wounds. A total of five police officers died and 14 were injured during the operation – the highest number in Rio’s modern history.
‘Ronaldo’s Dead’
Ronaldo Julião da Silva had spent the day at his sister’s house, fearing police would mistake him for a trafficker. He left at about 7 p.m. and was found dead in an alley about 500 meters from his home.
Relatives insist Silva was not involved in crime. Police have claimed that all those killed were criminals, but admitted 17 had no criminal record.
Searching for the Dead
As the operation concluded, women began searching the forest for their loved ones. Many of those killed came from outside Rio, including the Amazon state of Pará. Correia joined the search, finding bodies with horrific injuries. One 19-year-old had been decapitated.
Tauã Brito found her son near the staircase, shot in the head. Bodies were hauled out in sheets and stretchers, placed on tarpaulins outside Correia’s office.
‘An Infinite War’
The activists in Vila Cruzeiro voiced outrage at the bloodbath. Correia believes the conflict will never end. “You kill 100 traffickers and tomorrow another 100 will appear,” he said. “It’s an infinite war.”
Additional reporting by Melissa Cannabrava in Rio de Janeiro
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