Copyright bbc
The governor of Rio state said that the massive police operation involving around 2,500 security personnel was aimed at stopping a criminal group known as Comando Vermelho (Red Command) from expanding its territory. Initially, the Rio state government maintained that "60 suspects and four police officers" had been killed in the operation. They have since said that their "preliminary" count shows that 117 "suspects" have been killed. Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to the poor, has put the total number of people killed at 132. According to researchers, Red Command is the only criminal group which in recent years has managed to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in the country, alongside First Capital Command (PCC), and has a history dating back more than 50 years. According to Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has been covering crime in Rio for years, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and becoming "business partners". The gang engages primarily in drug trafficking, but also smuggles guns, gold, fuel, alcohol and tobacco. According to the authorities, gang members are well armed and police said that during the raid, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones. The governor of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, described Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and called the four police officers killed in the raid "heroes". But the number of people killed in the operation has come in for criticism with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "horrified". At a news conference on Wednesday, Governor Castro defended the police force. "It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We wanted to arrest them all alive," he said. He added that the situation had escalated because the suspects had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals."
