Residents Say Deadly Rio Police Raid Failed To Loosen Gang’s Iron Grip

BRAZIL – New questions rise on Friday about Brazil’s deadliest police operation, after a review found none of the 121 people killed, including four officers matched the suspects police claimed they were targeting.

The raid in Rio deployed 2,500 officers and was touted as a strike against the Comando Vermelho gang, but rights groups call it a “massacre” and local media say no high-level leaders were captured.

Residents told the BBC the gang was back on the streets the very next day, and Rio’s own intelligence officials say the operation had a “negligible” impact.

President Lula da Silva has ordered a federal investigation, while Rio’s governor whose approval rating has risen, says he won’t back down.