Overview
- Operation Containment deployed roughly 2,500 civil and military police with helicopters, armored carriers and demolition vehicles into the Complexo do Alemão and Complexo da Penha, targeting the Comando Vermelho.
- Officials and major outlets reported at least 64 fatalities, including four police officers, with authorities cautioning that the toll may rise and figures remaining contested.
- Police said 80–81 suspects were detained and dozens of rifles and large quantities of drugs were seized, and state-released footage showed what officials described as a weaponised drone used by gangs.
- Intense clashes closed 46 schools, halted university night classes, blocked key roads and saw buses commandeered for barricades as hospitals treated multiple gunshot victims.
- Human Rights Watch, the UN human rights office and Rio’s state legislative commission demanded prompt, independent probes, increasing pressure on Governor Cláudio Castro’s hard-line strategy days before high-profile events in the city.