Bodies line Rio street: death toll from police raids rises to 132

The deadliest police operation in Brazil's history has claimed the lives of at least 132 people, officials said on Wednesday, after residents of Rio de Janeiro lined a street with dozens of bodies collected overnight, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.

Details

The Rio public defender's office's tally more than doubled the death toll released on Tuesday, when state authorities reported at least 64 dead, including four police officers. The raids targeted a major drug trafficking group, the state government said.

Rio Governor Claudio Castro said initial counts only included bodies processed at the public morgue.

Residents of Penha, searching for missing relatives, collected many bodies in a wooded area behind their neighborhood, according to people at the scene, where more than 70 bodies were lined up in the middle of the street.

"I just want to take my son out of here and bury him," said the mother of one of the slain, surrounded by weeping mourners and onlookers on both sides of a long line of bodies, some covered with sheets or bags.

Governor Castro said he was confident that those killed in the operation were criminals, as most of the shooting took place in a wooded area. "I don't think anyone would be walking through the woods on the day of the conflict," he told reporters.

"The only real victims were the police," he said.

At least 64 dead in Rio de Janeiro's largest ever police raid29.10.25, 12:33 • 3843 views

Addendum

The police operation took place a few days before Rio is set to host global events related to the United Nations climate summit, known as COP30, including the C40 global summit of mayors dedicated to combating climate change, and the British Prince William's Earthshot Prize.

Over the past decade, Rio has hosted several global events, including the 2016 Olympic Games, the 2024 G20 summit, and the BRICS summit in July, but without violence on the scale seen on Tuesday.

The Rio state government said the operation was the largest in its history, targeting the Comando Vermelho gang, which controls drug trafficking in several favelas – poor and densely populated settlements that dot the city's hilly ocean landscape.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who arrived in Brasília late Tuesday from a trip to Malaysia, has not yet commented on the raids.

He met with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and cabinet members on Wednesday to discuss the matter, his office said. Lula's justice minister said on Tuesday that the government had not received any requests for support from state authorities.

Several civil society groups criticized the high number of casualties resulting from the military-style raid. The UN Human Rights Office said it reinforced a trend of extremely deadly police raids in Brazil's marginalized communities.

"We remind the authorities of their obligations under international human rights law and call for prompt and effective investigations," the statement said.