The crackle of gunfire and the thud of explosions shattered the pre-dawn silence in northern Rio de Janeiro on October 28, as a massive police operation against one of Brazil’s most notorious criminal organizations plunged several of the city’s sprawling favelas into chaos. By nightfall, Rio resembled a war zone – streets littered with spent shells, smoke billowing from burning barricades, and residents cowering behind thin walls.

When the gunfire finally subsided, the toll was staggering: at least 64 people dead, 81 suspects arrested, and 93 rifles seized. Four police officers were among the dead, marking what officials have called the deadliest operation in Rio’s history.

The raid, dubbed “Operation Containment,” targeted the Comando Vermelho (Red Command or CV), Brazil’s oldest and most powerful criminal organization. Founded in the 1970s inside Rio’s prisons, the CV controls vast networks of drug and arms trafficking, extortion, and robbery across the country. Authorities said the group’s strongholds in the Alemão and Penha complexes – densely populated clusters of informal settlements that house more than 90,000 people – had become the epicenter of organized crime in Rio.

“It started at 5 a.m. A lot of gunfire,” recalled Antonio Carlos Marcos, a resident of Complexo do Alemão, in an interview with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). He stepped out onto his balcony to film the scene, only to hear the sharp crack of a bullet striking his apartment wall – just inches from a framed picture that reads “Jesus.”

The day-long assault involved over 2,500 officers, backed by helicopters, armored vehicles, and drones. But the heavily armed CV fighters did not surrender easily. Police say gang members fired high-caliber........

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