According to the Brazilian authorities, at least 18 people died violently this Thursday in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, after an operation carried out by the Police, who tried to find the members of a criminal gang. Among the victims is a 50-year-old woman who was sitting inside a vehicle during the shooting, and a Military Police corporal.
The authorities reported that the death of the 50-year-old woman, whose name was Leticia, will be investigated by the Homicide Police Station and the Military Police, who “will provide all the necessary collaboration to clarify the case… It should be noted that the Corporal also left a wife and two autistic children.
Representatives of the city’s Civil and Military Police reported that the other 16 dead possibly belonged to the gang that sought to attack inside the Alemão favela complex, a place where, according to the authorities, criminals dedicated to bank robbery hide. cars and cargo vehicles.
“I would have preferred that they not react and that we arrest the 15 or 14 who would have faced justice. Unfortunately, they chose to react and attacked the policemen and the police will not allow it,” said Ronaldo Oliveira, Undersecretary of Civil Police Operations.
Approximately 400 troops participated in the siege, supported by four aircraft and 10 armored vehicles.
The deaths
In the afternoon, citizens began to share images on social networks that showed the residents of the place taking out, loaded on sheets, the bodies of deceased people and the wounded.
“We had to take them in a beverage truck and then signal a local resident in his car to take them to the hospital… The Police do not aim to arrest them, but to kill them, so if they are injured, they think they do not deserve help,” Gilberto said. Santiago Lopes, a member of the Anacrim Human Rights Commission, who also asserted that the Police had refused to help.
However, it was not until late at night that the authorities confirmed the death of almost twenty people in a press conference. For their part, human rights organizations have called for an independent investigation.
“It is clear that if there are criticisms and complaints about police action, they will be investigated, but what we are saying is that criminals are forcing part of the population to cause disorder during police action,” said Fabrício Oliveira, of the Civil Police. .
Human rights violations
The Public Defender’s Office of Rio de Janeiro published a statement assuring that they are following up on the case, as it is one of the deadliest police actions in Rio, assuring that, apparently, there are “serious violations of human rights.”
According to the institution, what happened this Thursday in the Alemão complex is similar to what happened a little over a year ago in another operation in another favela, where one of the officials who participated in the operation also died.
“The dynamic of how it happened? That will clarify the investigation. The Military Police is fully collaborating with these investigations, with the necessary information so that we can understand what happened, “said Rogerio Lobasso, Undersecretary of Operations of the entity.
It is not the first time that a scenario like this has been experienced in the Brazilian capital, where, in general, police actions leave a significant balance of dead people.
Just two months ago, 25 people died in a similar police action, while in May 2021 the deadliest police action in Rio’s history was recorded, with 28 people killed in the Jacarezinho community.
Jair Bolsonaro was satisfied with the police action
However, the action of the police was celebrated by the state executive of Rio de Janeiro and by the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, although they lamented the death of the police corporal.
The president declared on the subject during his weekly broadcast through social networks. There, he spoke out against a ruling issued by the Supreme Court, where police actions in Rio’s favelas were restricted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The more protected, the more armed (criminal groups) are,” the far-right president assured.
This operation would be the third with the highest number of deaths in just over a year in Rio de Janeiro, and there is a tendency for this type of confrontation to become more frequent in the most impoverished areas affected by violence, where organizations criminals compete for drug trafficking.
For this year, police officers were expected to start using body video cameras, which would reduce and prevent some problems of abuse in the use of force. However, it is still unknown if the policemen carried cameras during this raid.
More than 6,100 people died in the country at the hands of officials last year, according to data from the Security Yearbook.
With information from Reuters, EFE and AFP
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