Political situation in Brazil

132 dead in record drug raid in Brazil

The death toll from the extensive police raids in Rio de Janeiro's favelas has risen to 132 people, local authorities say, according to AFP.

The operation took place on Tuesday and is described as one of the largest in the country's history. 2,500 police and soldiers took part in raids targeting the Comando Vermelho gang.

Images from the shantytown of Complexo da Penha, where the raid took place, show how bodies have been laid out in the street and relatives have gathered to mourn.

According to an AP reporter on the spot, residents describe the operation as a massacre and demand justice for the victims.

Testimonies of executions in the favela: “A massacre”

Early Wednesday morning, at least 50 bodies lay along a street in the Rio favela Complexo da Penha after a police raid on the Comando Vermelho drug gang, reports the AP.

Residents in the favela describe the police and military operation as a massacre, something that local activist Raull Santiago also does. During the night to Wednesday, he has retrieved at least 15 bodies that were left in a forest.

“We saw people executed, shot in the back, shot in the head, stabbed and people tied up. The level of brutality and hatred means that it cannot be described as anything other than a massacre,” he says.

According to the official death toll, just over 60 people have been killed in the raid, but Rio’s public defender’s office states that the death toll is more likely to exceed 130 people.