Eleven or more people died this Thursday in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area during a police operation targeting leaders of a drug trafficking gang in the neighboring state of Pará. The operation involved elite units from the Rio de Janeiro Civil and Military Police and received support from Pará law enforcement. It took place in the Salgueiro favela complex in the city of São Gonçalo.
The Regional Civil Police told the news agency EFE that the aim of the operation was to capture the leaders of the Comando Vermelho, a criminal organization that originated in Rio de Janeiro and now has a presence across the country. The leaders were described as fugitives from the Salgueiro complex in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area and were accused of responsible for attacks on public security officers in Pará, where as many as forty police officers have died in clashes since 2021. They were also linked to a jewelry store robbery last year at a shopping mall in Barra da Tijuca, a high-end neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, in which a local security agent died.
On Thursday, authorities said that upon reaching the city, police encountered heavy resistance from criminal groups, resulting in a violent confrontation. The Civil Police provided these details, noting that the operation involved two armored helicopters and the seizure of thirteen rifles. The national news service Agencia Brasil reported that among the dead was Leonardo Acosta Araújo, age 37, known as Leo 41, identified as a top figure in Pará’s drug trade. The agency also reported that two civilian women were wounded and transported to Albert Torres Public Hospital, though the severity of their injuries was not disclosed at the time.
The Civil Police also confirmed that the officers were supported by air assets and security measures designed to minimize risk during the raid.
Governor Claudio Castro of Rio de Janeiro announced via social media that another organized crime leader in Pará and a separate leader operating in the northeastern state of Sergipe were captured during the same operation, according to official statements.