With Over 130 Brazilians Dead, It is Time to Rethink Drug Raids

In the early hours of October 28th, over 2,500 Brazilian police and soldiers launched the largest drug raid ever before in Rio de Janeiro. The raid targeted the criminal group, the Red Command, in the favelas of Complexo de Alemao and Penha. While 81 arrests were made, along with the seizure of over 90 rifles and a half ton of drugs, it came at a horrifying cost—the deaths of over 130 people. 

Though the raid is being touted as a “historic day” in “[confronting] organized crime” by

Rio’s Governor, Claudio Castro, the United Nations and human rights watch groups have issued statements condemning the raid. 

Local activist Raull Santiago described the scene as a “massacre”—“We saw executed people: shot in the back, shots to the head, stab wounds, people tied up.” Many others have described the burning barricades of buses and explosions of drone bombs as “war-like.” Streets were closed, public transportation was shut down, and 46 schools and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro canceled classes in its wake.

In addition to the moral considerations of such operations, their effectiveness must also be questioned. The director of Human Rights Watch in Brazil, César Muñoz, attacked the police, arguing that these operations “... do not result in greater safety for the population, but that in fact cause insecurity”. 

Luis Flavio Sapori, a sociologist and public safety expert at Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, argues that these operations are wasteful. Rather than the masterminds behind the drug operations, these operations target easily replaceable low-ranking members, all while creating unnecessary losses and putting residents in harm's way. 

The Marielle Franco Institute, created in honor of politician and activist Marielle Franco, which aims to fight for the rights of poor residents of the favelas, also criticized the raid, stating: “This is not a public safety policy. It’s a policy of extermination that makes the everyday life of Black and poor people a Russian roulette”.

Although the Brazilian Supreme Court's 2020 decision has led to a drop in cases of police violence, this raid has made it clear to many that policies must be put into place to protect the lives of residents and prevent the taking of any more lives.