🔗 Share this article

The photographer

An eyewitness who witnessed the results of an extensive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has recounted how local people came back with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The bodies "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness described. They included security forces.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - additional victims were "totally disfigured", he reported. Several bodies showed what appeared to be knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were killed during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan stated that he initially learned to the raid early on Tuesday by residents from the Alemão area, who sent him messages alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness traveled to the healthcare center, where the casualties were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that the police prevented journalists from accessing the operation zone, where the operation were occurring.

"Police officers formed a line and said: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

However, the photographer, who was raised in that neighborhood, reported he was able to enter into the restricted zone, where he continued until dawn.

He reported during the night, local residents commenced searching the mountainous area that borders Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones whose whereabouts were unknown following the security action.

Residents living in Penha arranged the located casualties in an open area - and Itan's photos reveal the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of what occurred affected me deeply: the grief of the families, women collapsing, pregnant wives, crying, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of the region declared that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to stopping an illegal organization known as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

At first, local officials claimed that "60 suspects along with four officers" lost their lives in the operation.

Officials subsequently stated that early calculations shows that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has calculated the final tally of people killed as 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has been able to increase its control throughout Rio state.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, alongside First Capital Command, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

According to Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and serving as "business partners".

The gang concentrates largely on narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking firearms, gold, energy resources, beverages and tobacco.

Based on official reports, gang members are well armed and officials reported that during the raid, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of the region, Cláudio Castro, labeled organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and referred to the four police officers who died during the operation as courageous individuals.

But the number of fatalities in the operation has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "appalled".

At a news conference the next day, the state leader defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He continued that the circumstances worsened due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It resulted of the retaliation they carried out and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The state leader also said that the casualties presented by community members in the area had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on online platforms, he asserted that particular individuals had been taken of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

A law enforcement representative from the police department also said that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and arms" were taken away from the bodies and presented video appearing to show an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse