Rio de Janeiro police raid on favela leaders leaves over 100 dead

At least dozens of people were killed and entire streets emptied after Rio de Janeiro police launched a predawn operation on Tuesday in two of the citys largest favela complexes, authorities and local officials said, in what state leaders described as the biggest security raid in Rio's history. The operation, which targeted leaders of the Comando Vermelho gang in the Complexo da Penha and Complexo do Alemão including Vila Cruzeiro and Penha, involved roughly 2,500 officers and sparked intense, prolonged gun battles that left many neighborhoods paralysed.

State officials initially reported 64 deaths, including four police officers. Over the following days the official counts were revised upward. Rio state police and prosecutors put the toll at around 119 to 121, while the city public defenders office reported as many as 132 deaths after residents recovered additional bodies from nearby woods, authorities said. The varying figures are the subject of ongoing verification by forensic teams and prosecutors.

Authorities said elite police units used helicopters, armoured vehicles, drones, and dozens of specialised teams to carry out the raids and to clear barricades set by traffickers....