The bodies just kept coming - photographer recounts lethal Rio police raid

Bruno Itan

A photographer who observed the consequences of an extensive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has reported how local people brought back mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The casualties "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan reported. Among them were security forces.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - others were "severely damaged", he said. Numerous victims displayed evidence of stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims were killed during the security action on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness stated that he initially learned concerning the action early on Tuesday by community members living in Alemão, who contacted him alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness traveled to the healthcare center, where the casualties were being brought.

Itan explained that security forces blocked media personnel from accessing the operation zone, where the operation was under way.

"Police officers established a perimeter and announced: 'The press cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in the area, reported he succeeded to make his way into the restricted zone, where he stayed through the night.

He reported during the night, community members started looking the elevated terrain which divides Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who had been missing following the security action.

Local people living in Penha organized the discovered victims in an open area - the photographer's images reveal the response of the people there.

"The violence of the situation impacted me profoundly: the grief of the families, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, crying, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of the state stated that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 officers was aimed at halting a criminal group known as Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

Initially, state authorities stated that sixty individuals and four police officers" had been killed in the operation.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has calculated the final tally of people killed as 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command is the only criminal group which in recent years has managed to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, alongside another major gang, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

Per Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "operational allies".

The gang engages primarily in drug trafficking, additionally trafficking weapons, gold, petroleum products, beverages cigarettes.

According to the authorities, organization members are well armed and police said that while the action was underway, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, characterized gang affiliates as drug terrorists and described the four police officers who died during the operation as brave public servants.

But the number of casualties during the raid has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "appalled".

In a media appearance the next day, the official defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We intended to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He continued that the situation intensified because the suspects fought back: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they implemented and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The state leader further reported that the casualties presented by community members in the area were "altered".

Via a statement on social media, he claimed that some of them had been stripped of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame onto the police".

A police official from the police department also said that tactical gear, body armor, and firearms" were taken away from the casualties and presented video appearing to show a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse