130 Killed in Rio's Deadliest Police Raid in Brazil History

At least 130 people have been killed in Rio de Janeiro in the deadliest police operation against drug cartels in Brazil's history. On Wednesday, city residents lined the street with dozens of bodies discovered overnight as a sign of protest and mourning.

According to state police, the operation against a major drug gang was meticulously planned for over two months. The goal was to drive the suspects towards a wooded hill where a special forces unit had ambushed them.

"The high mortality of the operation was expected, but not desirable," stated Rio's state security chief, promising to investigate possible "unlawful actions" by the police. Four police officers are also among the dead.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that the fight against drug crime must continue, but without endangering the lives of police officers and innocent families.

Residents of Rio's Penha neighborhood collected more than 70 bodies from the surrounding forest and lined them up in the middle of the street. "I just want to take my son from here and bury him," said the mother of one of the victims, surrounded by crying people.

This operation surpassed the previous record set in 2021, when a police operation resulted in 28 deaths. It has also become deadlier than the 1992 suppression of the Carandiru prison riot, during which 111 inmates were killed.