Operation Containment

Image: from adn Noticias X @adnnoticiasmx

Operation Containment (Portuguese: Operação Contenção) was a large-scale police operation launched on 28 October 2025 by the Rio de Janeiro state government to curb the advance of the Comando Vermelho faction. Approximately 2,500 police agents participated and executed hundreds of police warrants to arrest gang leaders in 26 communities in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, mainly in the Penha and Alemão complexes.

Intense confrontations occurred all day. Gangs set barricades ablaze and used drone-dropped bombs on special forces teams. The operation seized 93 rifles and killed 121 persons, according to police. State governor Cláudio Castro claimed the casualties were criminals and called the operation “a success”.

It was the most lethal police operation in the state’s history, surpassing the Jacarezinho shootout and the 111 prisoner deaths of the Carandiru massacre during a rebellion in the São Paulo prison in 1992.

Rio de Janeiro State police have often conducted large-scale operations against criminal organizations—mainly in favelas, a Brazilian term given for its “slums”—ahead of major events in the city, such as the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2024 G20 and 2025 BRICS summits. This operation happened a week before the city hosted the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group summit and the Earthshot Prize.

According to the think tank InSight Crime, Comando Vermelho is the oldest active criminal organization in the country. Its name means “Red Command” in Portuguese and refers to a leftist prisoners’ organization created during the 1964–1985 military dictatorship in Brazil.

The operation, which had been planned two months earlier, was launched in the early morning to execute around 100 arrest warrants, with 250 more warrants decreed during the operation. The teams that arrived at the locations in the morning faced strong retaliation from drug traffickers, who quickly erected barriers and barricades, some on fire, in various areas of the two complexes. In retaliation, the criminals also used drones and bombs against the police.

Two helicopters, 12 demolition vehicles as part of the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State’s Special Operations Support Unit inventory, 32 armored vehicles belonging to the National Public Security Force, and several ambulances were used. In addition, the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro State mobilized all its specialized police units.

Authorities jailed 113 people, including 33 criminals from other states. They seized drugs and 93 rifles. An unreported number of people were wounded. The following morning, at least 63 bodies (possibly over 70) were found by locals in a bush area near Favela da Penha. A 19-year-old’s decapitated head was discovered there. Police began an investigation into these deaths, claiming it was unrelated to the operation itself and that they were likely drug dealers, too. The police said 121 people died, but the public defender reported 132 dead. This includes four police officers (two BOPE agents and two from civil police).

A woman, who, according to the police, was one of the main fighters of the Comando Vermelho (CV), is among those killed by security forces in the operation. Penélope, known by the nicknames Japinha do CV and “muse of crime”, was hit by a rifle shot in the face. The drug trafficker was considered a trusted figure by local bosses. At the time of the confrontation, she was wearing camouflage clothing and a tactical vest with compartments for rifle magazines. Her body was found near one of the main entrances to the community, after hours of shooting. According to g1(website), Penélope resisted the police approach and opened fire on the officers, being fatally wounded.

In revenge, the gangs blocked several roads, including the Avenida Brasil, Yellow, and Red Line, using 71 stolen buses, which forced people to walk home. Healthcare, education, and transportation were disrupted. Neighboring municipalities São Gonçalo and Niterói were also affected by the blockades.

The city’s Education Department said 46 schools across the Penha and Alemão neighborhoods were closed, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (located in Cidade Universitária) canceled night classes, advising people on campus to seek shelter.

Cláudio Castro, governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, declared the city “at war” and called the operation the largest ever targeting the Comando Vermelho gang. He stated that Brazil “stands firm confronting narcoterrorism”.

Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio de Janeiro, stated the city “could not be held hostage by criminal groups”.

The state’s civil police declared that the “cowardly attacks” by criminals against its officers would not go unpunished.

Ricardo Lewandowski, minister of Justice and Public Security, said the federal government had not received any request for support from state authorities before the operation. After the operation, to help dismantle the gang’s ongoing command structure, the federal government authorized the transfer of at least ten Comando Vermelho leaders to federal prisons in other states.

Gleisi Hoffmann, Secretary of Institutional Affairs and member of the Chamber of Deputies, agreed on the need for coordinated actions, but cited a recent federal crackdown on money laundering as an example of the federal government’s efforts against organized crime.

The rapporteur for the proposed amendment to the Constitution, known as the “PEC for Public Security,” Deputy Mendonça Filho from the Democrats (PE), stated that he will present his report in November of the same year.

On 29 October, after a meeting with a minister of his cabinet, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned organized crime, emphasizing that a coordinated effort targeting the core of the trafficking network without putting innocent police officers, children, and families at risk is needed, and defended the amendment, citing it as a guarantee to improve public safety.

President of the Federal Senate Davi Alcolumbre from the Brazilian Union (AP) released a statement affirming that he has ordered the installation of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on Organized Crime, which will begin on November 4 of the same year.

On 29 October, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled that the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro, must send information about the operation carried out in the state capital within the scope of the Argument of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precept (APDF) of the Favelas.

On 29 October, protests were held in front of the Guanabara Palace, the seat of the state government.

• Argentina: The government classified Comando Vermelho and PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital, Portuguese for “Capital’s First Command”) as “terrorist groups” and activated “maximum alert” across the Argentina–Brazil border, with Patricia Bullrich, minister of National Security, stating that all Brazilians traveling to the country would be “thoroughly” inspected.
• Colombia: President Gustavo Petro called the operation “barbaric” and compared it with the 2002 Operation Orion, which occurred in Comuna 13, Medellín.
• United Nations: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights declared it was “horrified” by the deadly police operation and called for police reform in Brazil.
•  United States: The United States Department of State issued a security alert for travelers following the massive police operation against Comando Vermelho in Rio de Janeiro.
• César Muñoz, director of Human Rights Watch in Brazil, classified the event as a “huge tragedy” and “disaster”.

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