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In response to the operation by the Civil Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro that has so far resulted in the deaths of 25 people
executive director of Amnesty International Brazil
“The number of people killed in this police operation is reprehensible
The Rio de Janeiro state prosecutor’s office must conduct a prompt
and effective investigation into these atrocities
following international standards so that the agents of the state who ordered
committed or participated in this massacre are held accountable and face justice.”
It’s completely unacceptable that security forces keep committing grave human rights violations such as those that occurred in Jacarezinho today against residents of the favelas
“It’s essential that the investigation be carried out impartially and autonomously by someone other than the Rio de Janeiro state police
in order to meet the standards that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights established in the case of Favela Nova Brasilia
for which Brazil was internationally condemned.”
“It’s completely unacceptable that security forces keep committing grave human rights violations such as those that occurred in Jacarezinho today against residents of the favelas
Even if the victims were suspected of criminal association
summary executions of this kind are entirely unjustifiable
The police have the power to arrest but the courts have the duty to prosecute and judge those suspected of committing crimes.”
“It’s vital that the human rights of everyone in Brazil are respected and guaranteed
The Rio de Janeiro state government must develop a comprehensive security policy based on intelligence and training
so that agents of the state who make use of force do so while respecting the human rights of the residents of Ipanema and the slums.”
The Jacarezinho massacre is the largest ever by police officers in the city of Rio de Janeiro
surpassing even the Vigário Geral massacre in 1993
Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court suspended police operations in Rio de Janeiro’s slums on 5 June 2020
but the state government has systematically failed to comply with the decision by the nation’s highest court and the operations have not stopped
Civil society has consistently monitored these operations and denounced the human rights violations committed in the favelas
For more information or to arrange an interview
Amnesty International press office (Amnesty International Americas): [email protected]
Together we can fight for human rights everywhere. Your donation can transform the lives of millions.
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Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Alvise Armellini
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The operation by the Civil Police in the Jacarezinho favela was marked by a series of illegalities
according to 64 civil society organizations and social movements that
in a complaint to national and international bodies
are demanding clarifications and measures to guarantee an investigation
accountability and reparations for the 27 killings in the deadliest massacre in the history of the city of Rio de Janeiro
according to the Study Group of New Illegalisms of the Fluminense Federal University (UFF)
the raid by at least 200 police officers into the favela violated several other rights
but the security agents claim the operation was successful and that it occurred within legal parameters
This narrative was echoed by several authorities
including the governor of Rio de Janeiro Claudio Castro and President Jair Bolsonaro
Police officers and authorities also attacked human rights activists who criticized the operation
In the complaint submitted to the United Nations
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) on the case
civil society organizations say that police violence is routine and widespread in Brazil
See below the errors and illegalities of the operation in Jacarezinho that need to be investigated:
Non-compliance with the Supreme Court ADPF Case 635
The use of at least two helicopters in this operation also defies the ruling by Fachin
who banned the police from firing their weapons from rotary-wing aircraft
Another fundamental point is the recommendation for special care to be taken in areas near schools
Information shows that one health unit that provides vaccines against Covid-19 had to be closed due to the presence of police officers
such as the distribution of food staples and meals
In the complaint sent to the human rights bodies
the organizations point out that this was “not just a one-off disregard for the rulings of the highest court in the country
we are faced with a complete incomprehension
both by the state of Rio de Janeiro and by the Public Prosecutor’s Office
of the real weight of the important decisions made by the Supreme Court within the scope of ADPF Case No
a virtual session of the Supreme Court started to judge a petition filed by the PSB (Brazilian Socialist Party)
NGOs and social movements engaged in the ADPF Favelas Case
The petition is for the state government of Rio de Janeiro to prepare a plan to reduce police lethality
after Justice Alexandre de Moraes requested an adjournment
The complaint submitted by the social movements and organizations also claims that “information from the press also suggests that the Civil Police already had the identity of twenty-one people allegedly involved in illegal activities
the facts indicate that the operation was not carried out with the intention of letting them live.”
the police have alleged that the fatal victims had criminal records or were involved in crime
since extrajudicial killings are unconstitutional in Brazil
This same argument was used by the police to justify deaths in the Favela Nova Brasília massacre in the 1990s
a case that resulted in the IACHR condemning Brazil and the state of Rio de Janeiro
The Human Rights Committee of the Brazilian Bar Association in Rio de Janeiro (OAB-RJ) has also said that some of those killed did not have police records and others had already served prison sentences
criticizing the statements by the Civil Police for further violating the right to memory of the victims and their families
the people detained in the operation are examined in the Forensic Medical Institute
but the presence of police officers in the room may have prevented them from reporting assaults
the courts requested new examinations that have yet to be scheduled
Non-compliance with a resolution of the UN Human Rights Council
thorough and impartial investigation in accordance with international standards
2025 - Conectas Human Rights - Postal Code 47 - São Paulo (SP)
Brazil - ZIP: 01032-970 - Phone: +55 (11) 3884-7440
Rio’s favelas have suffered countless horrors since the drug conflict began to intensify in the 1980s and the carnage in Jacarezinho has caused a wave of protest
Shaken, shoeless and with a gaping bullet wound to one of his feet, the young man staggered through Flávia Luciana’s front door at around 8am last Thursday as Rio’s decades-long drug conflict plumbed horrifying new depths.
“Help me! For the love of God! Help!” she remembers him pleading as he sought shelter inside.
Read moreIt would be one of his last acts
witnesses say a small group of police special forces appeared outside on Saint Manuel lane
a narrow alleyway at the heart of Jacarezinho
they advanced up two flights of stairs to Luciana’s door
pursuing the injured – and apparently unarmed man – into her nine-year-old daughter’s pink-walled bedroom
where a sign above the bed reads: “Here sleeps a princess.”
possibly two shots as he and his petrified child fled downstairs onto a backstreet that would soon be strewn with bullet-riddled bodies and awash with blood
“Six [were killed] on this street: one in here and five in the house next door,” said Flávia Luciana
They just came to kill,” said Norma Bastos
a local preacher as she roamed the community’s meandering back alleys
past bullet-pocked houses that paid testament to the intensity of the violence
View image in fullscreenA young girl examines a bullet-riddled wall at the heart of Jacarezinho Photograph: Alan Lima/The GuardianLeandro Souza
said he had witnessed countless gunfights and police incursions during his 39 years of life in Jacarezinho
a vibrant but deprived sprawl of redbrick homes in north Rio
absolute war … human life was worth nothing here
a horror film I never thought I’d see in real life,” Souza said as stunned activists gathered at the favela’s samba school to contemplate the killings
But never before have so many lives been lost in a single operation and the carnage in Jacarezinho – as well as suspicions that several victims were extrajudicially executed – has sparked a wave of protest and a political storm over the hardline tack Brazil has taken since Jair Bolsonaro became president in 2019
this kind of operation only happens in these territories because they are majority black – and you can do whatever you want to a black body in this country,” said Joel Luiz Costa
a local lawyer and civil rights activist who helped organize the march
Bolsonaro, a vocal supporter of police repression who has called for criminals to be shot “like cockroaches”
congratulated security forces for the raid and rebuffed growing outrage over the bloodshed
the media and the left equate them with ordinary
honest citizens who respect laws and their neighbours,” Brazil’s pro-gun leader tweeted on Sunday
“Crooks the lot of them,” Bolsonaro’s vice-president, Hamilton Mourão, said, without evidence
View image in fullscreenMany of the victims appear to have been involved in the drug trade
Their nicknames are spray-painted on to black plastic banners that now hang over Jacarezinho’s main streets
Photograph: Alan Lima/The GuardianMany of the victims
do appear to have been involved in the drug trade
their nicknames spray-painted onto black plastic banners that now hang over Jacarezinho’s main streets
Jacaré family,” reads one tribute listing more than a dozen noms de guerre
As they laid Bruno Brasil to rest on Sunday afternoon
relatives insisted the 37-year-old odd-job man was not part of the drugs “movement” and had been shot in the belly by police while making an early morning trip to the shops
“My brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said his sister
He wasn’t involved in anything at all … I can’t stay silent and let them dirty his name like this.”
a 22-year-old who was also buried on Sunday
was a gang member and was known in the community as “Pé” or “Foot”
But he wasn’t the kind of gangster who went around killing people,” his grandmother
gathered inside a small chapel where his body lay in an open casket covered with white chrysanthemums
View image in fullscreenFriends and relatives attend the funeral of Isaac Pinheiro de Oliveira on Sunday
Photograph: Alan Lima/The GuardianOliveira’s family claimed he and a friend – a fellow trafficker called Richard Gabriel da Silva Ferreira – had been summarily executed after police tracked them to a house just off one of Jacarezinho’s main avenues
showed the Guardian a video she said he had sent her by WhatsApp at about 7am last Thursday in which he exhibits the bullet-wounds he sustained after being shot shortly after police began their pre-dawn raid
Teixeira claimed her nephew had managed to escape and hidden in a nearby house but was killed with Ferreira that afternoon after trying to surrender
View image in fullscreenPolice remove Isaac Pinheiro de Oliveira’s body in Rio on 6 May
Photograph: Ricardo Moraes/Reuters“They were executed
They could have taken them alive,” Teixeira claimed as she set off for his funeral from one of Jacarezinho’s barricaded entrances on Sunday
otherwise the same thing will happen in other favelas,” added Teixeira
whose son was also killed by police three years ago
a close friend who was outside the house where police killed Oliveira and Ferreira
and killed the two of them in the sitting room in cold blood … I heard the shots
As hundreds of officers gathered at the funeral of the slain drug squad agent on Friday
praised his agents’ “maturity and professionalism” in the face of heavily armed criminals who were shooting to kill
But as more gruesome details emerge from Jacarezinho residents and relatives, there are growing calls for an inquiry into an operation one Brazilian newspaper said exposed “the stupidity of the war on drugs”
On Friday the UN human rights office urged “an independent, thorough and impartial investigation” and the Brazilian supreme court judge Edson Fachin said there were signs “arbitrary executions” had been committed
Costa, the activist, said it was impossible to know exactly what had motivated the bloodletting, which claimed even more lives than the notorious 1993 massacre in a nearby favela called Vigário Geral
he suspected the shooting of a police officer in the early stages of Thursday’s raid had sparked “a revenge operation” as enraged operatives rampaged across the favela in retaliation
Oliveira’s grandmother said she felt for the family of the dead officer: “But they went in there to kill
View image in fullscreenA child’s bedroom where police killed one of the victims of last week’s raid
Photograph: Alan Lima/The GuardianThe 78-year-old said she had spoken to her grandson in the hours before his death after he called her from the house where he had taken refuge from police
I’m going to get out [of the gang],” she remembered Oliveira insisting before police stormed the building and ended his life
“I’m just one more Brazilian woman who has lost her grandson in this way,” De Mello lamented before he was entombed in a cemetery already packed with the young victims of Rio’s interminable conflict
“They could have put him in prison,” she added
Oversight Failures by State Attorney General’s Office
The police then tied the memorial to an armored vehicle and tore it down
before smashing the pieces with sledgehammers
“It was as if they were killing our children again,” Sandra Gomes
The police claimed the memorial promoted drug dealing and allege “the 27 people it honored had proven involvement with criminal activities,” in reference to the 27 residents killed that day
After the 2021 raid, the deadliest in Rio’s history, police said two victims
and although they claimed the other 25 had a record
they did not say if any had been convicted of a crime
The day of the raid, police took at least 25 victims to the hospital, claiming they were alive, but they all arrived dead. Testimonies and other evidence strongly suggest this was a ruse to destroy crime scene evidence
Insufficient witness interviews and other failures marred the investigations
Matheus Gomes’ body was photographed reclined on a plastic chair over a pool of blood
but neither police nor prosecutors ever took hold of the chair for forensic analysis
Rio’s Attorney General’s Office, whose mandate includes ensuring police abide by the law, has failed to properly investigate the police command for its responsibility in the operation.
With such poor oversight, it’s no wonder Rio police feel empowered to try to destroy even the memory of their brutal actions.
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UN rapporteurs have called for an “independent
thorough and impartial investigation into the murders” that were committed in Jacarezinho
In response to this statement by the United Nations
the Brazilian government said that it “promotes a culture of peace” between law enforcement officers and residents
The document from the rapporteurs and the letter of Brazil
were confidential and only made public recently.
a Civil Police operation in the Jacarezinho favela left 27 dead
making it the deadliest massacre in the history of the city of Rio de Janeiro
according to the Study Group of New Illegalisms
of the Fluminense Federal University.
The statement released last week is signed by the rapporteur on torture, Nils Melzer, and the rapporteur on summary executions, Morris Tidball-Binz, and it comes in response to an urgent appeal submitted to the UN by civil society organizations when the incident occurred
The organizations reported a series of illegalities and errors in the police operation.
“all those responsible for unlawful killings
summary or arbitrary executions must be brought to justice and the victims must be granted full reparations
They also urge the authorities to take the necessary measures to protect witnesses and survivors from possible retaliation
Although the case occurred in the state of Rio de Janeiro
it is the responsibility of Brazilian diplomatic representatives to engage with the UN
in a letter signed by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Women
the country claimed that it promotes a “culture of peace” between the police and residents and provides officers with training in human rights and preserving life
show that there is a culture of violence in the country and that the Jacarezinho massacre is no exception
Brazil registered 6,416 deaths from police intervention
according to the Annual Report on Brazilian Public Security
international advocacy advisor at Conectas
“the Brazilian response does not recognize the structural racism embedded in police actions in Brazil
which is being denounced using concrete data and information by civil society organizations and social movements
One of the most recent complaints is the statement made, in July this year, by Brazilian organizations against the non-compliance with the ADPF-635 case, also known as the ADPF Favelas Case, by law enforcement officers in Rio de Janeiro, at the 47th session of the HRC (Human Rights Council).
2025 - Conectas Human Rights - Postal Code 47 - São Paulo (SP), Brazil - ZIP: 01032-970 - Phone: +55 (11) 3884-7440
Print RIO DE JANEIRO — Some 1,200 police officers were deployed to Rio de Janeiro’s working-class Jacarezinho neighborhood and its surroundings early Wednesday
marking the start of a state effort seeking to “reclaim territory,” authorities said
It remains unclear how the program will differ from a prior initiative along similar lines
is part of a permanent effort to increase police presence and improve services in at least two favelas
“We have started a great process of transformation for the communities in the state of Rio,” Castro said
“We spent months developing a program that changes the lives of the population
The operations today are just the start of that change that goes well beyond security.”
On videos shared on the Rio police’s official Twitter profile, officers could be seen with their rifles drawn cautiously entering the streets of the vast favela, where the city’s deadliest raid took place last May, killing 28 people and injuring several others.
By Wednesday afternoon, dozens of individuals had been arrested, police said, but there were no reports of violent confrontations or shootouts.
Violence in Rio’s metropolitan region has gone down. Official data show that homicides between January and November 2021 were nearly 8% lower than during the same period a year ago, with nearly 2,000 deaths.
World & Nation
Ten months before the next presidential election
Brazil is more polarized than at any point in recent memory
But Rio’s police have historically resorted to storming favelas and engaging in deadly shootouts as a means to disrupt criminal organizations and seek out targets. And for years, officers have faced repeated accusations of summarily executing suspects
Some residents of Jacarezinho alleged executions took place during the raid last May
In its 2021 annual report published this month
which compiles and verifies reports of shootings throughout the metropolitan region
highlighted that the number of incidents where three or more civilians were shot dead has increased
There were 61 such events in Rio’s metropolitan area
most of which occurred during police operations
The idea of instead introducing permanent police units within Rio’s favelas to shore up security and tackle drug trafficking echoes a prior initiative: police pacification units, known as UPPs.
The ambitious program launched in 2008 and aimed to install a state presence inside favelas ahead of the 2016 Olympics. Gangs control many favelas that are home to 1.7 million people in Rio’s metro region, according to the 2010 census.
The UPP program scored initial success expelling gangs, and won broad praise. But the expensive initiative expanded too far and too fast into dozens of favelas as state finances cratered, causing a devastating backslide that enabled gangs to recover some of their grip.
“There was no planning,” said Daniel Cerqueira, a security analyst at the Brazilian Forum for Public Security, referring to the 2008 effort. “Each community has its peculiarities. To find the right remedy and dosage for each one of them, you have to have a picture of the social and criminal reality of that place, and then start planning.”
The program also suffered severe reputational damage after police were suspected to have tortured and killed a resident of the massive Rocinha favela who wasn’t involved in trafficking, prompting weeks of protests. Several police officers were eventually tried and convicted for the man’s disappearance.
In Jacarezinho, few residents were willing to speak on the record with the Associated Press on Wednesday, for fear of retaliation. Antônio Carlos Ferreira Gabriel, who twice led the local residents’ association, shared his misgivings about the government’s fresh promises to not just intensify policing but also improve public services.
“For God’s sake, we don’t want 1,200 police officers like we’re seeing today,” he said. “We want 1,200 social, cultural, sports, health, economic projects. That’s what we need.”
The local activist stressed that no association or civil society group from Jacarezinho had been invited to take part in the framing or implementation of the new program.
Rio’s Mayor Eduardo Paes was also caught by surprise. “I was informed yesterday at the end of the day by the governor himself. There wasn’t prior planning with City Hall,” Paes wrote on Twitter. “I support the initiative and we’ll work together for the good of our people.”
World & Nation
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Calls for independent investigation after at least 25 people were killed in raid on Jacarezinho favela
The United Nations has voiced alarm over a massive police operation in a Brazilian favela that left more than two dozen people dead, and called for an independent investigation.
At least 25 people were killed early on Thursday when police raided Jacarezinho, on Rio de Janeiro’s north side, in an operation police said targeted a gang suspected of recruiting children and teenagers.
“We’re deeply disturbed by the killings,” the UN human rights office spokesperson, Rupert Colville, told reporters in Geneva, adding that the operation appeared to be the deadliest in more than a decade in Rio de Janeiro.
Read more“We remind the Brazilian authorities that the use of force should be applied only when strictly necessary
and that they should always respect the principle of legality
“Lethal force should be used as a last resort
and only in cases where there is an imminent threat to life or a serious injury.”
Police said the operation targeted a gang suspected of recruiting children and teenagers for drug trafficking
The neighbourhood is considered a base for the Comando Vermelho
Colville said the UN human rights office had received “worrying” reports that police did not take steps to preserve evidence of the crime scene
“which could hinder investigations into the tragic outcome of this lethal operation”
“We call upon the office of the prosecutor to conduct an independent
thorough and impartial investigation into the case in accordance with international standards.”
Colville also stressed the need for “a broad and inclusive discussion in Brazil about the current model of policing in favelas
which are trapped in a vicious cycle of lethal violence with a dramatically
adverse impact on already struggling populations”
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MercoPress, en Español
Montevideo, May 5th 2025 - 14:13 UTC
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro expressed his congratulations to the Rio de Janeiro police late Sunday for last week's raid in a favela which left 28 dead
I congratulate the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, said Bolsonaro on social media
He added that by treating traffickers who steal
the media and the left make them equal to ordinary citizens who respect the laws and others, he said about reports such as the one carried by the newspaper Estado de San Pablo
according to which 9 of the 27 civilians killed did not have an arrest warrant against them nor did they have a judicial record
Twenty-seven suspects and one police officer died in the operation last Thursday in the Jacarezhinho favela
dominated by drug traffickers from the Comando Vermelho organization
Opposition parties are promoting an investigation into the police actions and responsibility of Governor Claudio Castro
The police raid on Jacareizinho was considered the most lethal in the history of Rio de Janeiro and it has drawn requests for independent investigations by the United Nations (UN)
Human Rights Watch and the Paulo Evaristo Arns Commission
Considering criminals as victims is an offence to the people who live as hostages to criminality, Bolsonaro posted Sunday evening
Bolsonaro made a tour of Brasilia aboard a motorcycle to commemorate Mother's Day
The president was accompanied by hundreds of motorcyclists
Also taking part in the rally was Defense Minister General Walter Souza Braga Netto
Without the recommended mask to avoid contagion of the coronavirus
the president shook hands and hugged several supporters
Last year we had a very serious problem with the pandemic
but little by little we are conquering it, he said
repeating his rejection of the social isolation implemented by various regional governments
as the supreme chief of the Armed Forces (I tell you) that my Army will never go to the streets to keep you indoors, Bolsonaro promised before a large group of followers concentrated in the official residence of Brasilia
he thanked the support expressed to a government that identifies to a great extent with the Army” and called for an event next Saturday in defence of the family
Rio de Janeiro's Police have released records of 25 of the 27 suspects killed in Jacarezinho
which revealed only two of them did not have a judicial dossier in their names
It turned out 12 of them were involved in drug trafficking in Jacarezinho
threat and personal injury and the remaining one had been booked for contempt
the police have said they were involved in trafficking as corroborated by testimony from relatives
Thursday's operation remains to many a state-sanctioned execution
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The Cross Fire report also points out that the figures for 2021 are higher than those for 2020, when there were 44 massacres and 170 deaths. One of the most striking cases last year was a police operation in Jacarezinho, on May 6, 2021, when 28 people were killed, including a civil police officer. The Jacarezinho massacre
is now the deadliest police operation in Rio de Janeiro’s history
coordinator of the program to Combat Institutional Violence at Conectas
the data on police violence in Rio de Janeiro illustrate how important and urgent it is to proceed with and conclude the judgment of ADPF Case 635
“We cannot allow more people to be killed and the ruling already issued by the Supreme Court to be systematically ignored
The ADPF Favelas Case raises the debate on the extremely serious violations committed by the State in the field of public security and since 2020 it has restricted police operations during the pandemic
particularly those of black people in the urban peripheries,” said Sampaio.
The resumption of the judgment of an appeal filed by the PSB (Brazilian Socialist Party)
NGOs and social movements engaged in the ADPF Favelas Case is scheduled for February 2
the organizations are asking the state government of Rio de Janeiro
to prepare a plan to reduce police lethality.
20219:32 PM UTCDeadly police raid in Rio de Janeiro slumAt least 25 people were killed in a shootout in Rio de Janeiro's Jacarezinho slum
during one of the state's deadliest police raids
[2/15]A policeman aims his weapon during an operation against drug dealers in Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro
It was the deadliest single police operation in the state of Rio de Janeiro
which has suffered for decades from drug violence in its poor neighborhoods known as favelas
[5/15]A policeman stands guard in position during an operation against drug dealers in Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro
[6/15]Policemen carry a wounded suspect during an operation against drug dealers in Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro
[8/15]A policeman takes position during an operation against drug dealers in Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro
[9/15]A policeman stands in position during an operation against drug dealers in Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro
[10/15]Policemen aim their weapons during an operation against drug dealers in Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro
[11/15]A policeman aims his weapon during an operation against drug dealers in Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro
[12/15]Policemen aim their weapons during an operation against drug dealers in Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro
[13/15]Policemen stand in position during an operation against drug dealers in Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro
[14/15]Residents react after policemen removed a dead body during an operation against drug dealers in Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro
[15/15]Policemen stand in position during an operation against drug dealers in Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro
were killed in a shootout on Thursday during an operation against drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro's Jacarezinho slum
© 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved
in pursuit of drug traffickers in what was the deadliest raid in the city’s history
About 200 members of Rio’s civil police launched the raid into Jacarezinho in the early hours despite a 2020 supreme court order outlawing such incursions during the coronavirus pandemic
About 1,200 police officers were deployed to Rio de Janeiro’s working-class Jacarezinho neighborhood early on Wednesday
It remains unclear how the program is to differ from a prior initiative along similar lines
is part of an effort to increase police presence and improve services in at least two favelas
Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro said
“We have started a great process of transformation for the communities in the state of Rio [de Janeiro]
We spent months developing a program that changes the lives of the population
bringing dignity and opportunity,” Castro said
“The operations today are just the start of that change that goes well beyond security,” he added
In videos posted on Twitter by Rio de Janeiro police
officers with rifles at the ready could be seen cautiously entering the streets of the vast favela
where the city’s deadliest raid took place in May last year
killing 28 people and injuring several others
but there were no reports of violent confrontations
Violence in Rio de Janeiro’s metropolitan region has gone down
Official data shows that homicides between January and November last year were nearly 8 percent lower than during the same period in 2020
Rio de Janeiro’s police have historically resorted to storming favelas and engaging in shoot-outs as a means of disrupting criminal organizations
officers have faced repeated accusations of summarily executing suspects
Some residents of Jacarezinho alleged that executions took place during the raid in May last year
“There was no planning,” said Daniel Cerqueira
a security analyst at the Brazilian Forum for Public Security
To find the right remedy and dosage for each one of them
you have to have a picture of the social and criminal reality of that place
who twice led the residents’ association in Jacarezinho
shared his misgivings about fresh promises to not just intensify policing
we don’t want 1,200 police officers like we’re seeing today,” he said
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Marca de sangue na porta de uma residência no bairro do Jacarezinho: 24 vítimas ainda não foram identificadas - Voz das Comunidades
May 6th, left at least 25 people dead in Jacarezinho
a poor district in Rio de Janeiro’s northern zone.
According to Fogo Cruzado
a non-governmental organization that produces data on armed violence
the episode is “the second-largest slaughter in the history of the city”.
The victims of the operation targeting drug dealers included 24 “suspects” and one police officer
as stated by the Institute of Public Safety (ISP).
The names of the 24 victims had not been released until the closing of this edition
no supplemental information is available on any of the deceased.
Two subway passengers and a resident were hit by stray bullets but survived
and two other policemen were wounded in the operation.
“For us, any situation that involves shots with firearms and three or more civilian deaths, except security officers on duty, constitutes a slaughter”
Jacarezinho is controlled by the drug gang Comando Vermelho (CV)
and is considered to be one of its headquarters in Rio.
“The police operation in Jacarezinho is the situation with more people shot and dead in the history of our NGO”, says Couto. “When we look into all the slaughters, it is second only to the massacre in Baixada Fluminense, in 2005”. On the occasion
29 people were murdered in a police operation against drug trafficking
“The third worst situation is the slaughter in Vigário Geral, in 1993, which ended with 21 people dead”
who has a Master’s Degree and a Ph.D
a member of the Human Rights Committee of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB)
went to the community on the same day to gather facts
“We went through Jacarezinho, visited five or six houses, and witnessed the same dynamics: invaded houses, gunshots, executions. There is no evidence of a crossfire, we’re talking about executions
the police stated only that the corporation mourns the death of the policeman and the ‘innocent people hit in the subway’”.
Operations like the one in Jacarezinho disrespect a decision of the Supreme Court minister Edson Fachin
Fachin’s ruling forbade police operations in poor communities in Rio de Janeiro during the pandemic of COVID-19 and was justified by the Claim of Non-Compliance with a Fundamental Precept (ADPF) n.635.
The decision only allows such actions in “absolutely exceptional” circumstances and imposes that the Public Prosecutor’s Office must be notified by the police beforehand
none of these entities made any declarations justifying the operation.
we have been seeing a significant reduction of shootouts
and wounded people during actions involving security agents in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro”
“However, when we look at the history of police operations since the beginning of our organization [in 2016]
two of them happened after the ADPF was put in place”
“This shows that the decision by the Supreme Court is important and has helped to spare lives
the police forces see it as an obstacle for their actions
not as an opportunity to effectively transform security policies in Rio de Janeiro”.
such lethal operations could have been avoided with investments in intelligence.
“The rationale for combatting criminality is still focused on confrontation, not on planning or investigation. Some cases are very serious
and they must be faced by the Supreme Court so that the ADPF can help reshape the police in Rio de Janeiro
Jacarezinho’s case makes it clear that this is not happening”
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provided it is not altered and proper credit is given
All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced
(ANS - Belo Horizonte) - On the morning of Thursday 6 May the Brazilian Civil Police conducted a vast operation
and two helicopters - inside the Jacarezinho favela
criticized by the UN because "it confirms the tendency to the excessive use of force by police officers"
The Salesians of the Belo Horizonte Province shared their position on the issue in an official statement
Since 1950 the Salesians of Don Bosco have been present in the district of Jacarezinho
We arrived in that community moved by the apostolic-missionary ardor of the Salesian Fr Nelson Carlos Del Mônaco (1911-1999) who
Father Nelson courageously embarked on the Salesian Educational-Evangelizing Project
trying to satisfy and support the needs of the community
And we still continue this beautiful work of his
always aiming at the fulfillment of the Salesian mission: “To be signs and bearers of God's love for the young
contributing to the construction of a just and fraternal society.”
we were surprised by the Exceptis operation carried out in the community of Jacarezinho
the Salesians of Don Bosco of the St John Bosco Province (Brazil-Belo Horizonte)
in solidarity with the Community of Jacarezinho
strengthen our bonds of friendship and solidarity
making ours the words of the Cardinal Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro
Orani João Tempesta: "We pray for the dead
we too will continue our religious - social - educational presence there
trying to bring people to an encounter with God and with a more just and humane world
We deeply regret this moment in the history of this city which is classified as 'the deadliest action in the history of Rio de Janeiro' and we join all those who suffer: family
and acquaintances and the whole community of Jacarezinho who are going through this moment.”
continually guide us in the search for peace and justice and may Mary Help of Christians
whose image is present on the top of the church erected in the district of Jacarezinho
look maternally on all her children who cry out and sigh for her intercession
ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication
the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007
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Brazil - November 2021 - On November 18 and 19
the students and collaborators at the Salesian presence of Jacarezinho
gathered to watch films from the "Don Bosco Global Youth Film Festival." The film sessions were held at various times to accommodate elementary school students and all the collaborators who enjoyed and appreciated the videos made by the participants of the festival
which fueled the flame of hope in everyone
Gostaria de receber as principais notícias do Brasil e do mundo
O jornal Folha de S.Paulo (1921 - 2025) é publicado pela Empresa Folha da Manhã S.A
Some 1,200 heavily armed military police launched an operation Wednesday to wrench control of Rio de Janeiro’s slums from drug gangs
starting with the notorious Jacarezinho favela where residents took cover
Jacarezinho was the scene last May of reportedly the deadliest police operation in Rio’s history
prompting the UN to call for an “impartial” investigation into claims of summary executions
is considered a stronghold of the Comando Vermelho (Red Commando) criminal group
“The (Rio) state government began a territorial recovery in the Jacarezinho community
Surrounding communities will also be occupied,” the military police said on Twitter
with photos of black-clad officers patrolling the streets
According to AFP journalists on the ground
the streets of Jacarezinho were all but deserted
with shop shutters lowered as police patrolled with assault rifles amid palpable tension
Residents declined to be interviewed on the operation
Military police spokesman Ivan Blaz said the situation was calm
– ‘Integrated city’ –
The operation is part of a government program — Integrated City — aimed at transforming Rio communities at the mercy of criminal gangs and drug-traffickers
“It took months to design a program that would change the lives of the people
The operations are just the beginning of this transformation that goes far beyond security,” said Castro
Added Blaz: “This is an intervention in a conflict zone so that we can implement a project of the Rio state government
“It is the next steps that will make the difference: the arrival of social
Similar operations will be conducted in other neighborhoods in the coming months in Rio city
where about a quarter of the population of 6.7 million live in crime- and poverty-ridden favelas
Security and violence experts have questioned the efficacy of the anti-gang operations
as well as the large number of deaths that often occur
Inhabitants fall victim both to clashes between gangs and the police
– ‘Occupation without dialogue’ –
vaccination and anti-Covid tests are suspended in Jacarezinho where this military occupation is taking place at a critical time of the pandemic,” tweeted Renata Souza
“This logic of occupying a territory militarily to integrate it is wrong
It totally violates the rights of the inhabitants!” she added
the Network of Public Security Observatories
slammed “a military occupation without dialogue with the inhabitants.”
May’s raid sparked outraged protests after streets in the favela were left strewn with bodies and pools of blood
Police had said the operation targeted a drug gang that was recruiting children and teenagers
Rights groups claimed it was the most deadly police operation in the history of a city all-too-used to violence and police killings — particularly in the majority-black favelas
Two police officers have been prosecuted for murder
who was elected on a promise to be tough on crime
has expressed support for the two officers
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