“Most lethal” police raid in Rio de Janeiro makes a mockery of Supreme Court rule

A total of 28 people died and four others were injured during a civil police operation in northern Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, in what experts call the “most lethal” law enforcement incursion in the city’s history. Since the early hours of the morning, residents of the Jacarezinho favela reported hearing intense gunfire and seeing an estimated 200 heavily armed members of Rio de Janeiro’s Civil Police storm the neighborhood, which is known as a stronghold of the Red Command organized crime group.

Current reports have the death toll at 28, including one police officer. Four individuals were injured, two of whom were hit by stray bullets while riding the train, which passes through the favela.

The frequency of Rio de Janeiro’s notorious favela raids had fallen somewhat since a Supreme Court order last June forbade such operations during the pandemic “except under absolutely exceptional circumstances.” But the routine of violence and fear has returned to the city, and Thursday’s police massacre may go down as Rio de Janeiro’s deadliest on record.

Maria Isabel Couto, the spokesperson for urban violence monitor Fogo Cruzado, tells The Brazilian Report that the Jacarezinho raid is the case with the highest number of individuals shot and killed since the platform began keeping records in 2016. 

Thursday’s...