Rio Says 610 Barricades Cleared in First Week as Governor Makes Operation Permanent

Overview

• In six days, authorities reported 610 barricades removed, 414 routes reopened and 2,189 tonnes of material cleared, with 13 arrests, six firearms seized and 10 vehicles recovered.
• The first phase targets 12 municipalities across Greater Rio using an ISP-RJ georeferenced database that identified 13,604 obstacles.
• Monday's actions concentrated in Costa Barros and parts of the Baixada Fluminense, where residents described heightened tension.
• Duque de Caxias closed five schools for safety, and a school in the Complexo da Pedreira also suspended classes during the interventions.
• Governor Cláudio Castro said the effort has no end date and warned that attempts to rebuild obstacles will prompt BOPE and CORE responses, as the state deploys 50 demolition kits and opens anonymous tip lines.