Residents of Complexo da Penha, in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, witnessed a tragic scene on Wednesday (29) as they removed dozens of bodies from a wooded area. The death toll in the region, following the police operation considered the most violent in the state’s history, reached 136 people. The information comes from Agenda do Poder.
Based on information released by the OAB-RJ Human Rights Commission (Brazilian Bar Association, Rio de Janeiro section), at least 72 bodies were found this morning in a wooded area in Serra da Misericórdia, a location that saw intense clashes the previous night. The bodies were taken to Praça São Lucas, on Estrada João Lucas, one of the main thoroughfares in Complexo da Penha. Witnesses report that there are still unrecovered victims in areas of the region known as Vacaria, where shootouts also occurred.
Activist Raull Santiago, who participated in rescuing some of the victims, has been using social media to report the situation. “More tarps have been stretched out to shelter the bodies that are being found,” he wrote in one of his posts, accompanied by a photo showing the macabre scene.
Among the fatalities are four police officers, and another nine agents were injured during the operation, which targeted members of Comando Vermelho, considered the main criminal faction operating in Rio. The operation, which aimed to serve 100 arrest warrants, sought to capture criminals linked to drug trafficking, including Edgar Alves de Andrade, known as Doca, identified as one of the group’s leaders.
The repercussions were immediate and provoked reactions from various spheres of public authority. The Public Defender’s Office denounced possible abuses and human rights violations, while the federal government announced the dispatch of a delegation to Rio de Janeiro to assess the public security crisis. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called an emergency meeting with the main authorities in the sector, and the Chamber of Deputies advanced the analysis of the Constitutional Amendment Proposal on Security.
Governor Cláudio Castro requested that ten leaders of organized crime be sent to maximum-security prisons, a request already fulfilled by Brasília. On the international front, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights demanded a swift and transparent investigation. “We are horrified by the ongoing police operation in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas,” the organization stated on its social media.
Human Rights Watch also issued a statement, criticizing the security model adopted in the state. “Rio needs a new public security policy that stops encouraging clashes that victimize residents and police,” the NGO affirmed.
Source: brasil247.com