The bodies just kept coming - eyewitness describes fatal Rio police raid

Bruno Itan

A reporter who witnessed the results of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has recounted how local people came back with mutilated bodies of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer stated. They included law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim had been decapitated - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he reported. Numerous victims displayed what he described as stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan stated that he initially learned concerning the action Tuesday morning by community members from the Alemão area, who sent him messages informing him gunfire had erupted.

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

Itan explained that security forces prevented journalists from accessing the affected area, where the police action were occurring.

"Police officers formed a line and announced: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in the area, explained he was able to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed through the night.

He described that evening, community members commenced searching the elevated terrain that borders the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for family members who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Community members living in Penha proceeded to place the located casualties in an open area - the photographer's images display the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of the situation shook me a lot: the grief of loved ones, women collapsing, expectant spouses, weeping, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The governor of the region announced that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 security personnel was designed to stopping a criminal group called the criminal faction from expanding its territory.

Initially, the Rio state government stated that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed during the action.

Authorities later reported that initial estimates suggests that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

The legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the total number of casualties as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction that in the past few years has succeeded to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction in Brazil, in company with another major gang, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

According to reporter an expert, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio for years, the gang "works as a system" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "operational allies".

The gang focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in firearms, precious metals, energy resources, alcohol smoking products.

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

The governor of the state, Cláudio Castro, labeled Red Command members as criminal extremists and described the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as brave public servants.

But the number of fatalities in the operation has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "shocked".

During a press briefing the next day, the official defended the police force.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he said.

He continued that the events intensified as the individuals fought back: "It was a consequence of the resistance they executed and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The state leader also said that the bodies shown by residents in the area were "altered".

In a post through digital channels, he asserted that particular individuals had been stripped of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame onto the police".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force further reported that tactical gear, vests, and firearms" were taken away from the bodies and showed footage apparently demonstrating an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse