🔗 Share this article

Bruno Itan

A reporter who witnessed the consequences of an extensive security raid in Rio de Janeiro has described how residents brought back disfigured remains of those who had died.

The victims "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the photographer described. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

One individual had been decapitated - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he explained. Many also had what he described as blade trauma.

In excess of 120 victims were killed during the security action against a criminal group - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness stated that he was first alerted to the raid early on Tuesday by community members living in Alemão, who sent him messages informing him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer went to a local medical facility, where the bodies were being brought.

Itan explained that law enforcement prevented journalists from accessing the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were taking place.

"Police officers created a barrier and announced: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

However, the photographer, who was raised in the community, reported he managed to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed through the night.

He reported that evening, community members commenced searching the mountainous area that separates the Penha neighborhood from the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones whose whereabouts were unknown following the security action.

Residents from the Penha area arranged the discovered victims in a public space - and Itan's photos show the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of the situation affected me profoundly: the sorrow of relatives, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, sobbing, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The photographer

The state leader of the state announced that the massive police operation involving around 2,500 security personnel was aimed at preventing a criminal group referred to as Red Command from expanding its territory.

Originally, state authorities claimed that "60 suspects along with four officers" had been killed in the raid.

Officials subsequently stated that early calculations suggests that 117 individuals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the total number of people killed to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has been able to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, alongside a rival criminal group, with a background spanning over five decades.

According to Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio for years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and acting as "business partners".

The organization engages primarily in illegal drug trade, but also smuggles guns, valuable minerals, petroleum products, liquor and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates are well armed and police said that during the raid, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.

The governor of the state, the government representative, labeled gang affiliates as criminal extremists and referred to the four police officers who died during the operation as brave public servants.

However, the count of casualties in the operation has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "appalled".

In a media appearance the next day, the official justified security actions.

"We did not plan to cause fatalities. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He further explained that the situation worsened as the individuals fought back: "It resulted of the retaliation they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The official additionally stated that the bodies presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "manipulated".

Via a statement on online platforms, he said that certain victims had been removed of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A law enforcement representative from the police department also said that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and weapons" had been removed from the casualties and presented video apparently demonstrating a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse