Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 59: Police Raid “Megaoperação Contenção” on Comando Vermelho Leads to 132 Killed
A police counter-gang “megaoperação” (mega-operation) targeting the Comando Vermelho (CV) or Red Command in in the Alemão and Penha favelas on northern Rio de Janeiro killed at least 132. The raid on Tuesday, 28 October 2025 is reportedly the deadliest police operation in Brazil’s history.[1] The operation conducted by 2,500 police form Rio’s civil and military police targeted the CV’s territorial control of these two favelas. The CV countered the police action with gunfire and aerial drones. Four police officers were killed during the operation.
Key Information: Anna Bustamante, Ana Carolina Torres, Gabriel de Paiva, Fabiano Rocha, Roberta de Souza e Marcos Nunes, “Megaoperação para conter avanço do CV no Alemão e na Penha tem 64 mortos, entre eles quatro policiais; ação é a mais letal da história do Rio.” O Globo. 28 October 2025, https://oglobo.globo.com/rio/noticia/2025/10/28/complexos-do-alemao-e-da-penha-sao-alvos-de-megaoperacao-acao-tem-dois-mortos-e-homem-em-situacao-de-rua-baleado.ghtml:
Uma megaoperação das polícias Civil e Militar nos complexos da Penha e do Alemão, na Zona Norte do Rio, deixou quatro policiais mortos além de oito agentes feridos, na manhã desta terça-feira. De acordo com a Polícia Civil, 60 suspeitos foram mortos, dois deles da Bahia. Quatro moradores também foram atingidos. O objetivo da ação é cumprir mandados de prisão contra integrantes do Comando Vermelho (CV), 30 deles de fora do Rio, escondidos nos dois conjuntos de favelas, identificados pela investigação como bases do projeto de expansão territorial do CV. Até o fim da manhã, 81 pessoas foram presas e 93 fuzis foram apreendidos na ação, que mobiliza 2,5 mil policiais e também promotores do Grupo de Atuação Especial de Combate ao Crime Organizado (Gaeco/MPRJ). Há ainda a confirmação de 15 policiais feridos.
A operação marca uma mudança no padrão de enfrentamento entre as forças de segurança do Rio e as facções criminosas. Em uma demonstração inédita de poder bélico, traficantes utilizaram drones para lançar granadas contra equipes das forças especiais da Core e do Bope, cenário típico de guerra. Para esse “bombardeio”, os criminosos acionam um gatilho mecânico ou elétrico que libera a carga enquanto mantêm o equipamento em voo, afastando-se sem se expor. Além disso, em outro sinal de uma escalada nos confrontos, o governo estadual declarou que não tem condições de atuar sozinho e que o conflito ultrapassou o âmbito da segurança pública tradicional.[2]
Key Information: Marina Dias, “Death toll of police raid in Rio doubles to 132, state watchdog says.” Washington Post. 29 October 2025, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/10/28/rio-alemao-penha-brazil-police-raid/:
At least 132 people were killed Tuesday in a massive police operation against one of Brazil’s most powerful criminal organizations, the Rio de Janeiro state public defender’s office said Wednesday, as residents of the two targeted favelas brought scores of bodies out to a public square.
Rio state police put the number Wednesday at 119, the deadliest police operation in Brazilian history. Cláudio Castro, Rio state’s tough-on-crime governor, said it was only 58 — 54 “criminals” and four police officers.
A group of 2,500 civil and military police officers launched raids in the Alemão and Penha favelas of northern Rio early Tuesday with armored vehicles, helicopters and drones, state officials said Tuesday. The goal, police said, was to “capture criminal leaders” and “counter the territorial expansion” of the Comando Vermelho, or Red Command.
Key Information: “A bloody police raid in Rio was the deadliest in Brazil’s history.” The Economist. 29 October 2025, https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2025/10/29/a-bloody-police-raid-in-rio-was-the-deadliest-in-brazils-history.
Before dawn on October 28th, security forces advanced into dozens of slums in Rio de Janeiro. Their targets were the leaders of the Red Command, Brazil’s second-largest drug gang. Armoured trucks smashed their way through barricades. Police helicopters whirred overhead. Panicked mobsters fired on the police with automatic weapons and launched grenades by drone. It made little difference. By day’s end, hooded agents triumphantly brought out 81 suspects, dozens of rifles and 200kg of drugs. They left behind a grisly haul in the nearby river and rainforest: scores of young, male and mostly black corpses.
Reactions have reflected political divisions. The right has loudly celebrated the raid. Mr Castro, a member of Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right Liberal Party, declared it a successful crackdown on crime groups. Pressing to put soldiers on the streets, he announced that “we’re not going to sit around crying” and that the only “victims” were the four police officers killed. Rio’s conservative mayor, Eduardo Paes, concurred, saying that “Rio cannot be held hostage by criminal groups.” Both politicians favour iron-fist policies to tackle the Red Command, which has long been fighting against a coalition of right-wing militias founded by off-duty policemen.
Key Information: Tom Philips, “‘This was a slaughter, not an operation’: the favela reeling from Rio’s deadliest police raid.” The Guardian. 29 October 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/29/favela-reeling-rio-deadliest-police-raid-brazil?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other:
Day had yet to break over Vila Cruzeiro but already dozens of corpses were splayed out along the favela’s main drag after more than 130 people were killed during the deadliest police operation in Rio’s history: grotesquely disfigured, blood-smeared bodies that had been dragged out of nearby forests and dumped on blue tarpaulins and black plastic sheets covering the street…
Rio officials said on Tuesday that at least 64 people, including four police officers, had been killed after a force of 2,500 launched a pre-dawn assault on Alemão and Penha, the vast patchwork of favelas of which Vila Cruzeiro is part. By the early hours of Wednesday the public prosecutor said the death toll had risen to 132 – higher than during São Paulo’s notorious Carandiru prison massacre in 1992, when 111 prisoners lost their lives.
Between 4.15am and 9am, when government body collectors finally arrived, the Guardian witnessed pickup trucks delivering dozens of corpses to a square in Vila Cruzeiro named after Saint Luke the Evangelist…
Many, perhaps all of the dead men – most seemingly in their late teens, 20s and 30s – are likely to have been members of the local drug faction, the Red Command, which Tuesday’s operation was intended to target. Most of the corpses were unclothed but a few wore ghillie suits, camouflage clothing used by snipers, hunters and nature photographers to conceal themselves in foliage.
Key Information: Victoria Azevedo and Raquel Lopes, “Security Crisis in Rio de Janeiro Mobilizes Federal Government, and Lula Accelerates Anti-Gang Bill.” Folha de S. Paulo [English Edition]. 31 October 2025, https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2025/10/security-crisis-in-rio-de-janeiro-mobilizes-federal-government-and-lula-accelerates-anti-gang-bill.shtml:
The public security crisis in Rio de Janeiro, stemming from the mega-operation against the Comando Vermelho criminal faction on Tuesday (28), has mobilized members of the presidential palace and President Lula himself, in a move set against the backdrop of next year’s presidential election…
The Tuesday operation left more than one hundred dead in Rio —the deadliest in the country’s history— and fueled tension between the state and federal governments in a clash of narratives about the action, its aftermath, and mutual accusations.
Rio’s governor, Cláudio Castro, accused the federal government of failing to support police operations. In response, Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski refuted the claim at a press conference, calling the operation “quite bloody.”
Key Information: Tom Philips, “Thousands join protests in Rio favela after deadliest ever police raid.” The Guardian. 1 November 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/01/thousands-join-protests-in-rio-favela-after-deadliest-ever-police-race:
Thousands of protesters have gathered in the Rio favela that this week suffered the deadliest police operation in Brazilian history to demand an inquiry into the killings and an end to security policies that have turned working-class neighbourhoods into “war zones”.
At least 121 people, including four police officers, were killed on Tuesday during a police assault on the Complexo da Penha and the Complexo do Alemão, two large tapestries of favelas in north Rio. The operation made global headlines when scores of mutilated bodies were dumped at the entrance to one of those favelas.
On Friday afternoon, white-clad demonstrators gathered on Vila Cruzeiro’s football pitch to condemn the violence and demand the removal of Rio’s rightwing governor, Cláudio Castro, who ordered the offensive. One woman wore Brazil’s green and yellow flag over her shoulders, stained with red paint…
Yet while many are outraged by this week’s massacre, a large chunk of Brazilian society and its media has applauded the killings, as have many prominent rightwing politicians positioning themselves as hardline “law and order” candidates before next year’s general elections.
Third Generation Gang Analysis
The integrated police operation, “Megaoperação Contenção” (“megaoperation Containment”), held in Rio de Janeiro’s Penha and Alemão favelas known as complexes (Complexos da Penha e do Alemão) on Tuesday, 28 October 2025 is a significant event in Brazil’s contest for territorial control. The operation, conducted by the military and civil police, respectively the Polícia Mititar do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (PMERJ), including Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (BOPE), and the Polícia Civil do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (PCERJ), including Coordenadoria de Recursos Especiais (CORE), is the deadliest to Brazil’s history to date.
The operation reportedly led to the deaths of 99 characterized by media and government sources as criminals. As the neutralization of narcoterrorists, with at least 42 having pending arrest warrants and 78 having extensive criminal histories.[3] A total of 210 weapons were seized, including 93 rifles, including AK-47s and AR-15s.[4] In addition, 12 explosive devices were reportedly seized.[4]
Rifles seized by BOPE, Governo do RJ (@GovRJ), 28 October 2025, https://x.com/GovRJ/status/1983278058397413693.
Megaoperação Contenção
According to the Rio de Janeiro state government, the operation, Operação Contenção,” was the culmination of over 60 days of planning—”60 dias de planejamento com inteligência, levantamentos, mapas e distribuição tática das tropas.”[5] All deployed police, reportedly were equipped with body cameras.[6] In addition, 12 explosive devices were reportedly seized.[7] The operation was conducted in accordance with the requirements of ADPF 635.[8]
Background on ADPF 635
ADPF 635 is a landmark lawsuit filed in Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court or Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ). The case, also known as the ADPF Favelas Case. An Arguição de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental, (“Action for Breach of a Fundamental Precept”) is essentially a mandatory injunction aimed at reducing the high rate of mortality associated with police raids in the favelas. The case led to the imposition to limit police action in the favelas, require mandatory use of body-worn cameras, and reporting of police lethality, along with access to emergency medical services during planned police operations.[9] Despite the remedial measures taken in ADPF 635 police action in the favelas remains controversial.
Battle for Competitive Control
The CV countered the police raid with force including firearms and aerial drones. “Members of Red Command responded to police with gunfire, barricading roads with burning cars and dropping grenades using drones…At least four police officers were killed and 15 more were injured.”[10] The use of drones in response to police action is notable.[11] The use of drones as aerial improvised explosive devices is a significant feature of this event.[12][13]
This is a battle for competitive control as described by David Kilcullen.[14] The gangs essentially exercise criminal governance and territorial control while the police gain limited access to the contested space.[15] This territorial control includes reports of alleged torture to ensure community acquiescence to the gang’s actions.”[16] This torture is reportedly tied to criminal tribunals or Tribunais do tráfico (trafficking tribunals) that enforce a parallel justice system. Similarly, the CV has deployed its own mobile ride-sharing app to ensure community compliance with their blockades while solidifying gang dominance over their territory.[17]
The Aftermath
The aftermath of Megaoperação Contenção is likely to be contested on many fronts. The CV and the state (both the local government in Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian state at large will continue their battle for competitive control. This will exacerbate the competition between Brazil’s left- and right-wing political parties as both seek electoral dominance. The rule of law will continue to be challenged as the quest for calibrating state response to ‘criminal insurgency’ and criminal governance/territorial control continues. The residents of the various complexes or favelas will continue to be challenged by the threat and/or fear of both criminal and state violence. As Brazil comes to grips with the impact of this latest violent battle for ‘competitive control’ there are both street protests[18] and calls for human rights investigations into the potential for excessive police violence[19] and corrupt linkages, giving CV gang leaders foreknowledge of the pending raid.[20].
A detailed independent investigation of the holistic circumstances of the deaths and circumstances surrounding Megaoperação Contenção is warranted. This independent investigation must address not only police practice (or alleged malpractice) but also the criminal competition and territorial control activities of the Comando Vermelho (CV), corruption and collusion by state actors, and potential means of building and sustaining community peace and the rule of law.
Endnotes
[1] An earlier deadly raid against the CV occurred on the Jacarezinho favela in 2021. See John P. Sullivan, Robert Bunker, and José de Arimatéia da Cruz, “Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 36: High Casualty Civil Police Raid in Rio de Janeiro’s Jacarezinho Favela Raises Human Rights Concerns.” Small Wars Journal. 26 May 2021, https://smallwarsjournal.com/2021/05/26/third-generation-gangs-strategic-note-no-36-high-casualty-civil-police-raid-rio-de/.
[2] In English, the title reads: “Mega-operation to contain CV’s advance in Alemão and Penha leaves 64 dead, including four police officers; action is the deadliest in Rio’s history.” The text reads: “A large-scale operation by the Civil and Military Police in the Penha and Alemão complexes in the northern zone of Rio left four police officers dead and eight wounded on Tuesday morning. According to the Civil Police, 60 suspects were killed, two of them from Bahia. Four residents were also shot. The objective of the operation is to execute arrest warrants against members of the Comando Vermelho (CV) gang, 30 of whom are from outside Rio and were hiding in the two slums, identified by the investigation as bases for the CV’s territorial expansion project. By the end of the morning, 81 people had been arrested and 93 rifles seized in the operation, which mobilized 2,500 police officers and prosecutors from the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco/MPRJ). Fifteen police officers were confirmed injured.” […] “The operation marks a change in the pattern of confrontation between Rio’s security forces and criminal factions. In an unprecedented display of military power, drug traffickers used drones to launch grenades at teams from the Core and Bope special forces, a typical war scenario. For this “bombing,” the criminals activate a mechanical or electrical trigger that releases the payload while keeping the equipment in flight, moving away without exposing themselves. In addition, in another sign of an escalation in the clashes, the state government has declared that it is unable to act alone and that the conflict has gone beyond the scope of traditional public security.”
[3] “COLETIVA DE IMPRESA MEGAOPERAÇÃO CONTENÇÃO [Megaoperation Containment Press Conference],” Polìcia Civil RJ (on X). 31 October 2025, https://x.com/PCERJ/status/1984363756286042488.
[4] “MEGAOPERAÇÃO CONTENÇÃO [Megaoperation Containment],” Polìcia Civil RJ (on X). 1 November 2025, https://x.com/PCERJ/status/1984700279036498366.
[5] In English, “more than 60 days of planning with intelligence, surveys, maps, and tactical distribution of the troops.” Governo do RJ. 29 October 2025, https://x.com/GovRJ/status/1983571277030805707.
[6] Ibid., In the original Portuguese, “Todos os policiais estavam com câmeras corporais.”
[7] ibid., In the original Portuguese, “[Resultado da operação] 14 artefatos explosivos.”
[8] In the original Portuguese, “A operação está sendo realizada cumprindo as exigências da ADPF 635.” Governo do RJ. 28 October 2025, https://x.com/GovRJ/status/1983173742923767919.
[9] Cody Weddle, “Gangs bomb police with drones in retaliation for Rio de Janeiro raid.” The Telegraph, 28 October 2025, https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/drones-helicopters-bomb-gangs-dramatic-234548301.html.
[10] “In retaliation, criminals used drones to attack police officers in the Penha Complex [Em represália, criminosos usaram drones para atacar policiais no Complexo da Penha]. Governo do RJ. 28 October 2025, [Note the video included in this post], https://x.com/GovRJ/status/1983119476825698335.
[11] See Matheus Teixeirs, “Uso de drones com granadas, como na Ucrânia, escala poder do crime, dizem delegados [Use of drones with grenades, as in Ukraine, escalates crime, say police chiefs]. Exame. 28 October 2025, https://exame.com/brasil/uso-de-drones-com-granadas-escala-poder-do-crime-dizem-delegados/?utm_source=copiaecola&utm_medium=compartilhamento and Roberto Uchôa de Oliveira Santo, “A verticalização do conflito urbano: como drones de guerra migraram da Ucrânia para o crime no Brasil [The verticalization of urban conflict: how war drones migrated from Ukraine to crime in Brazil].” The Conversation, 29 October 2025, https://theconversation.com/a-verticalizacao-do-conflito-urbano-como-drones-de-guerra-migraram-da-ucrania-para-o-crime-no-brasil-268557.
[12] Yet, despite the concern about Ukrainian tactics migrating to Brazil, the use of drones (unmanned aerial systems or UAS) in Brazil and the Americas actually predates the current Ukraine conflict which started with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Previous incidents in Brazil of note, include the use of small-UAS in the urban bank raids of the Novo Cangaço, such as that documented in August 2021, and in Mexico starting in 2017, See respectively, John P. Sullivan, José de Arimatéia da Cruz, and Robert J. Bunker, “Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 42: Brazilian Gangs Utilize Human Shields, Explosives, and Drones in a New ‘Cangaço’ Style Urban Bank Raid in Araçatuba, São Paulo,” Small Wars Journal. 5 September 2021, https://smallwarsjournal.com/2021/09/05/third-generation-gangs-strategic-note-no-42-brazilian-gangs-utilize-human-shields/ and Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan, “Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #35: Weaponized Drone/UAV/UAS Seized in Valtierrilla, Guanajuato with Remote Detonation IED (‘Papa Bomba’) Payload.” Small Wars Journal. 23 October 2017, https://archive.smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/mexican-cartel-tactical-note-35. See Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan,Eds., Criminal Drone Evolution: Cartel Weaponization of Aerial IEDs. Bloomington: Xlibris, 2012 for a detailed exploration of drone weaponization by criminal cartels and gangs.
[13] See Carlos Frederico de Oliveira Pereira, “Commentary: ADPF 635. The interweaving of the International Human Rights Law and the International Humanitarian Law in the repression of the territorially dominant Third Generation Gangs in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.” Small Wars Journal. 18 July 2022, https://smallwarsjournal.com/2022/07/18/commentary-adpf-635-interweaving-international-human-rights-law-and-international.
[14] See David Kilcullen, Out of the Mountains: The Coming Age of the Urban Guerilla. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 116–168.
[15] This can be viewed as a component of ‘criminal insurgency’ where gangs and criminal cartels challenge states for effective control of components of the state. See John P. Sullivan, “Crime wars: Operational perspectives on criminal armed groups in Mexico and Brazil.” International Review of the Red Cross. IRRC No. 923. June 2023, https://international-review.icrc.org/articles/crime-wars-operational-perspectives-923 and John P. Sullivan, “The Challenges of Territorial Gangs: Civil Strife, Criminal Insurgencies and Crime Wars.” Revista do Ministério Público Militar (Brazil), Edição n. 31, November 2019, https://www.academia.edu/40917684/The_Challenges_of_Territorial_Gangs_Civil_Strife_Criminal_Insurgencies_and_Crime_Wars.
[16] See “Decisão que embasou megaoperação no RJ cita tortura de moradores [Decision that led to mega-operation in Rio de Janeiro cites torture of residents].” O Antagonista. 20 October 2025, https://oantagonista.com.br/brasil/decisao-que-embasou-megaoperacao-no-rj-cita-tortura-de-moradores/.
[17] See Júlia Quirino, “The Comando Vermelho’s Mobile App: Criminal Innovation, Illicit Economies, and Armed Governance in Rio de Janeiro.” Small Wars Journal. 21 August 2025, https://smallwarsjournal.com/2025/08/21/the-comando-vermelhos-mobile-app-criminal-innovation-illicit-economies-and-armed-governance-in-rio-de-janeiro/.
[18] Tom Philips, “Thousands join protests in Rio favela after deadliest ever police raid.” The Guardian. 1 November 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/01/thousands-join-protests-in-rio-favela-after-deadliest-ever-police-race.
[19] “Brazil: Serious Investigative Failures in Deadly Rio Raid.” Human Rights Watch. 31 October 2025, https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/10/31/brazil-serious-investigative-failures-in-deadly-rio-raid.
[20] “Rio Operation was Leaked, and Deaths Began Before Favela Raid, Document Shows.” Folha de S. Paulo[English Edition]. 30 October 2025, https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2025/10/rio-operation-was-leaked-and-deaths-began-before-favela-raid-document-shows.shtml.
Sources
Victoria Azevedo and Raquel Lopes, “Security Crisis in Rio de Janeiro Mobilizes Federal Government, and Lula Accelerates Anti-Gang Bill.” Folha de S. Paulo [English Edition]. 31 October 2025, https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2025/10/security-crisis-in-rio-de-janeiro-mobilizes-federal-government-and-lula-accelerates-anti-gang-bill.shtml.
“Brazil: Serious Investigative Failures in Deadly Rio Raid.” Human Rights Watch. 31 October 2025, https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/10/31/brazil-serious-investigative-failures-in-deadly-rio-raid
Anna Bustamante, Ana Carolina Torres, Gabriel de Paiva, Fabiano Rocha, Roberta de Souza e Marcos Nunes, “Megaoperação para conter avanço do CV no Alemão e na Penha tem 64 mortos, entre eles quatro policiais; ação é a mais letal da história do Rio.” O Globo. 28 October 2025, https://oglobo.globo.com/rio/noticia/2025/10/28/complexos-do-alemao-e-da-penha-sao-alvos-de-megaoperacao-acao-tem-dois-mortos-e-homem-em-situacao-de-rua-baleado.ghtml.
Marina Dias, “Death toll of police raid in Rio doubles to 132, state watchdog says.” Washington Post. 29 October 2025, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/10/28/rio-alemao-penha-brazil-police-raid/.
Tom Philips, “‘This was a slaughter, not an operation’: the favela reeling from Rio’s deadliest police raid.” The Guardian. 29 October 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/29/favela-reeling-rio-deadliest-police-raid-brazil?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other.
Tom Philips, “Thousands join protests in Rio favela after deadliest ever police raid.” The Guardian. 1 November 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/01/thousands-join-protests-in-rio-favela-after-deadliest-ever-police-race.
“Rio Operation was Leaked, and Deaths Began Beforre Favela Raid, Document Shows.” Folha de S. Paulo[English Edition]. 30 October 2025, https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2025/10/rio-operation-was-leaked-and-deaths-began-before-favela-raid-document-shows.shtml.
Cody Weddle, “Gangs bomb police with drones in retaliation for Rio de Janeiro raid.” The Telegraph, 28 October 2025, https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/drones-helicopters-bomb-gangs-dramatic-234548301.html.
For Additional Reading
John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker, Eds., Third Generation Gangs and Transnational Cartels. Bloomington: Xlibris, 2025.
John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker, Eds., Competition in Order and Progress: Criminal Insurgencies and Governance in Brazil. Bloomington: Xlibris, 2022.
John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker, “Criminal Armed Groups Compete with the State and Each Other.” Word on the Street (Urban Violence Research Network), 14 July 2022.
John P. Sullivan, “The Challenges of Territorial Gangs: Civil Strife, Criminal Insurgencies and Crime Wars.” Revista do Ministério Público Militar (Brazil), Edição n. 31, November 2019.
