Rio deโข Janeiro favelas are in mourningโ and bracing for an uncertain future following a deadly police raid aimed at dismantling the Red Command gang,with โfamilies beginning to bury their dead Thursday as the scale of lossโ becomes clear. the operation,intendedโฃ to capture gang leaders and curb the group’s expanding territorial control,has left residents โขshaken and fearing further instability in already vulnerable communities.
The โrecent escalation ofโค violence underscores a growing crisis in Rio’s favelas, where criminal organizations like the Red Command exert significant influence, impacting daily life and erodingโ trust inโ authorities. The gang’s reachโฃ has extended beyond Rio โฃin recent years, even penetrating the Amazon โrainforest, โposing a broader threat to regional security. This latest raid and itsโข aftermath raise critical questions about the long-term effectiveness of heavy-handed policing tactics and the need for lasting solutions โขaddressing the root causes of crime and inequality.
“Now comes a sense of greatโ fragility,” one resident observed, reflectingโข the pervasive anxiety gripping the communities.
The operation’s objectives centered on apprehending key figures within the Red Command and limiting the gang’s expansion, which hasโข steadily โขincreased its grip on โfavelas in recent years. Paulo Roberto, a 16-year-old street vendor at the Maracana football stadium, expressed concern about the impact on the city’s image.โ “People from โoutside are goingโข to see this going on โขin โคfavelas โand aren’t going to want to come anymore. โIt makes us look bad,”โฃ he said.
Among those mourned was Cauan Fernandes do Carmo Soares, 22, whose relatives carried white flowersโ as they followed his coffin to โa cemetery in Rio’s northern zone.”These boys haveโข a father,aโฃ mother,sisters and brothers,” said Grasiele,Fernandes do carmo Soares’ sister,before theโ wake. “My family is destroyed.” โข
A policeโค officer was also among the deceased, buried Thursday morning in Rio’s western zone.
