‍What happened?

On Tuesday, October 28, residents of Rio de Janeiro wake up in a war scenario, with scenes of  violence and uncertainty. The Civil Police launched a large-scale operation, called Operação Contenção (“Contention Operation”), aimed to combat the advance of the domain of the Comando Vermelho (CV) a major Brazilian criminal faction involved in drug and arms trafficking in the city. Authorities carried out 100 arrest warrants and 180 search and seizure warrants. The intervention focused on the Penha Complex and Alemão Complex, favelas long controlled by organized crime.

Amid the gunfire exchange, trafficants retaliated by burning cars using drones to drop improvised explosives. This confrontation occurred in a densely populated area home to more than 110,000 people, intensifying the gravity of the violence.

The operation mobilized over 2,500 agents was arranged only by the state’s civil police and according to the federal government, there was no formal communication regarding the mega-operation. The director of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, also stated that there was no legal authorization for participation in the operation. The estimates report 119 deaths— including both suspects and law enforcement officers—and 113 arrests, making it the most lethal police operation in Brazil's history.

The attack drew widespread condemnation. UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, expressed deep concern over the high death toll, requesting an independent investigation into potential human rights violations. 

Citizens as Gravediggers and Threat of Lawsuit

After the operation, residents entered the confrontation zones in the forest area and carried more than 70 dead bodies to a nearby square in the neighborhood. The bodies were lined up and undressed to facilitate the process of identification. 

The recovered remains revealed the extreme brutality of the clashes. Witnesses reported finding bodies with their hands tied behind their back, others with stab wound marks and some reported finding decapitated bodies, 

When questioned about the reasons the police had not retrieved the bodies, the Secretary of Public Security of Rio de Janeiro, Victor Santos, alleged that they “didn’t know about their existence” and that it was “not possible to attend to that demand.” The Secretary also spoke about investigations for processual fraud against the residents, since there are a series of legal procedures for reporting and handling discovered bodies that had not been followed by them.

Criminality Punishment: Rich vs Poor

It takes little observation to recognize that Rio’s population has a tense relationship with law enforcement. The state has long been the main stage for criminal activities and is strongly marked by socio-spatial segregation among its residents. Criminals exist across social classes—from the luxury beach view apartments in Leblon to the top of the Penha Complex—but they are not treated with equality. 

The state faces a certain difficulty accessing favelas, largely due to the organized crime’s control, which sees in marginalized populations the opportunity to get a cheap and easy workforce. The dominance of these groups forces more criminality into those places, turning neighborhoods into battlegrounds and recruitment hubs beyond the reach of state authorities. Yet, although the action of these groups in the favelas has become increasingly visible, they are only one part of the picture. Many of these organizations have members within legitimate institutions facilitating illicit activities, such as arms trafficking.

As a result, residents of these communities are often stereotyped as criminals. For many born into these places, a social stigma attached determines how broader society perceives them and at times such as recently, it is used to justify acts of violence against them.

Operations like this raise critical questions: How effective are these displays of force? Do they actually weaken organized crime?  Will violence end for good?

Would members of elite corruption networks ever be treated the same way after being captured, humiliated and exposed after death? What is the difference between the criminals from Penha Complex and those from Leblon?

Ultimately, Rio’s latest operation endangered many innocent lives, and seemed like a show of strength rather than an effort to address the city’s structural problems. Parts of society will applaud and even encourage these missions at communities, appealing this is a way of giving freedom and security to the people, yet they will ignore and reject any comparable actions targeting the elite.

Obs: The intention of this analysis is not to defend any kind of illicit activities, but to examine how society interprets crime depending on the social status of those who commit them. 

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Works Cited

Agência Brasil. "Chefe da ONU pede investigação sobre mortes em operação no Rio." Agência Brasil. October 30, 2025. https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/direitos-humanos/noticia/2025-10/chefe-da-onu-pede-investigacao-sobre-mortes-em-operacao-no-rio.

BBC News Brasil. "A crise no Rio de Janeiro e a operação policial que deixou 60 mortos." BBC News Brasil. October 29, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/articles/clyg64e15j0o.

CBN Rio de Janeiro. "Saiba motivos de polícia do Rio não ter retirado corpos da mata após megaoperação." CBN Rio de Janeiro. October 30, 2025. https://cbn.globo.com/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2025/10/30/saiba-motivos-de-policia-do-rio-nao-ter-retirado-corpos-da-mata-apos-megaoperacao.

CNN Brasil. "Comando Vermelho: como surgiu e se espalhou a maior facção do Rio." CNN Brasil. Accessed October 30, 2025. https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/nacional/sudeste/rj/comando-vermelho-como-surgiu-e-se-espalhou-a-maior-faccao-do-rio/.

G1 Rio de Janeiro. "Drones-bomba no Rio: CV dominou tecnologia com ajuda de militar da Marinha, mostrou Fantástico." G1. October 29, 2025. https://g1.globo.com/fantastico/noticia/2025/10/29/drones-bomba-no-rio-cv-dominou-tecnologia-com-ajuda-de-militar-da-marinha-mostrou-fantastico.ghtml.

G1 Rio de Janeiro. "Megaoperação: diretor da PF cita contato de forças do Rio, mas avaliação foi de que operação não era 'razoável'." G1. October 29, 2025. https://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2025/10/29/megaoperacao-diretor-da-pf-cita-contato-de-forcas-do-rio-mas-avaliacao-foi-de-que-operacao-nao-era-razoavel.ghtml.

G1 Rio de Janeiro. "Operação 'contenção': Forças de segurança tentam cumprir mandados de prisão." G1 Rio de Janeiro. October 28, 2025. https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2025/10/28/operacao-contencao-forcas-de-seguranca-tentam-cumprir-mandados-de-prisao.ghtml.

InfoMoney. "Testemunhas relatam ter encontrado vítimas amarradas pelos punhos em operação no Rio." InfoMoney. October 29, 2025. https://www.infomoney.com.br/politica/testemunhas-relatam-ter-encontrado-vitimas-amarradas- pelos-punhos-em-operacao-no-rio/.

Nações Unidas Brasil. "Especialistas da ONU cobram investigação célere sobre operação policial mortal no Rio de Janeiro." Nações Unidas Brasil. October 30, 2025. https://brasil.un.org/pt-br/304423-especialistas-da-onu-cobram-investiga%C3%A7%C3%A3o-c%C3%A9lere-sobre-opera%C3%A7%C3%A3o-policial-mortal-no-rio-de.

UOL Notícias/Agência Estado. "Corpos estavam amarrados e com marcas de facadas, relatam moradores do Complexo da Penha." UOL Notícias. October 29, 2025. https://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/agencia-estado/2025/10/29/rio-corpos-estavam-amarrados-e-com-marcas-de-facadas-relatam-moradores-do-complexo-da-penha.htm.

UOL Notícias/Agência Estado. "Líder comunitário relata situação no Complexo do Alemão: 'Crianças estão vendo os 60 corpos'." UOL Notícias. October 28, 2025. https://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/agencia-estado/2025/10/28/lider-comunitario-relata-situacao-no-complexo-do-alemao-criancas-estao-vendo-os-60-corpos.htm.