🔗 Share this article

Bruno Itan

A reporter who witnessed the consequences of an extensive law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has described how residents came back with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The victims "continued arriving: the numbers kept rising", the photographer described. Among them were those of police officers.

A particular victim had been decapitated - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he reported. Several bodies showed what appeared to be stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives in the Tuesday operation against a criminal group - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The photographer stated that he was first alerted to the raid in the early hours by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages informing him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter went to the healthcare center, where the victims were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that security forces blocked media personnel from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were occurring.

"Security forces created a barrier and declared: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in that neighborhood, stated he succeeded to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed through the night.

He explained that Tuesday night, local residents commenced searching the elevated terrain that borders Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones who had been missing after the operation.

Local people living in Penha arranged the located casualties in an open area - the documented evidence reveal the response of those present.

"The brutality of what occurred impacted me a lot: the grief of loved ones, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, sobbing, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The official of the region announced that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 security personnel was intended to halting a gang called Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

At first, the Rio state government stated that sixty individuals and four police officers" were fatally injured in the operation.

Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates indicates that 117 individuals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that gives legal support to the poor, has estimated the overall count of fatalities to be 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command is the only criminal group which in recent years has been able to make territorial gains across the region.

Experts commonly view one of the two largest gangs in the country, alongside First Capital Command, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

Per Brazilian journalist an expert, who has been covering crime in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "business partners".

The organization concentrates largely on narcotics distribution, but also smuggles firearms, gold, energy resources, alcohol smoking products.

Based on official reports, organization members are well armed and officials reported that during the raid, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of the region, the political leader, labeled Red Command members as criminal extremists and called the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as brave public servants.

But the number of casualties in the security action has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "appalled".

During a press briefing the following day, the state leader defended the police force.

"There was no objective to result in deaths. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He added that the circumstances had escalated due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It was a consequence of the resistance they carried out and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The governor also said that the bodies presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "manipulated".

Through a message on social media, he said that particular individuals had been removed of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame onto the police".

A police official representing security forces further reported that tactical gear, body armor, and arms" were stripped from the victims and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse