Bloody police raid in Brazil, at least 132 dead

A bloody police raid against drug traffickers has been carried out in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. At least 132 people have been killed. According to local police officials, most of the 132 people killed in the raid were suspects from the Commando Vermelo gang. Four police officers were also among the dead.
According to BBC, Al Jazeera and AFP sources, 2,500 police officers took part in the raid in the Penha Complex and Alemao Complex areas of Rio de Janeiro. However, some angry local residents accused the police of outright killings. Mourners gathered there as the bodies of the victims were dumped on the side of the road.
“The state came to commit genocide, it was not a police raid. They came to directly kill people,” a woman from the Penha Complex told AFP news agency. “Many people were shot in the back and in the head,” said Raul Santiago, a 36-year-old resident and activist. “It doesn’t seem to be consistent with normal public safety.”
Brazilian Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said President Lula da Silva was shocked and surprised by the number of killings, as the operation was carried out without the permission of the federal government.
Local media reported that the initial estimate of the number of bodies was between 50 and 70. Many of the bodies were recovered from mountainous areas, where clashes between police and gangs were common.
“To be honest, the clashes were not in built-up areas, they were all in the jungle. So I don’t think anyone was walking around in the jungle normally. So we can easily classify them,” Governor Castro told reporters. The police operation is considered the most brutal in the history of the city of Rio. Authorities have been trying to control gangs in the city’s poorer areas for decades.