Brazil: Rio de Janeiro’s “deadliest operation in history” worries international organizations

The deployment against the criminal organization Comando Vermelho left an estimated 121 dead and had an international impact. The United Nations is demanding an investigation into the conduct of the forces and has condemned the violence. 

The recent security operation in Brazil against the criminal organization known as Comando Vermelho, which left an estimated 121 dead, has placed the use of force in the name of national security at the center of debate. International organizations and various legal figures expressed concern over excessive action whose toll has led the operation to be described as the “deadliest in the history” of Brazil.

The deployment of more than 2,000 police officers who last week entered two clusters of favelas in Rio de Janeiro, with arrest warrants for 100 members of the organization, raised strong concern over its level of violence. The image of dozens of lifeless bodies piled up in the area of the operation circulated around the world and had an immediate impact. It is estimated that at least 60 of the victims were civilians, along with several members of the police force itself.

The United Nations echoed what had happened and made its own observations. The organization’s Secretary-General, António Guterres, expressed “extreme” concern over the high number of victims resulting from the operation, and also recalled that such actions must be in line with the principles of international law. The body demanded an immediate investigation into the conditions under which the operation was carried out.

Likewise, the head of Amnesty International (AI) in Brazil, Jurema Werneck, went further and described the conduct of the security forces in the incident as “disastrous.” Werneck maintained that the results of the operation amounted to a “resounding failure” for the State authorities as well as for the local population. 

The debate over violence in security policy, especially around police conduct, is not new in Brazil. This is particularly true in Rio de Janeiro, where the fight against crime and organized crime has led to historic episodes of violence, focused on the region’s most vulnerable populations. In the case of the operation against Comando Vermelho, the fight against so-called “narco-terrorism” was one of the main lines of discourse used to justify the aim of the deployment. 

This sparked debate among experts about the way security policies have become a focus of political disputes. Sabina Frederic, former National Minister of Security of the Argentine Republic, observed that the message of the fight against “narco-terrorism” can be seen as a quest for legitimacy by local right-wing sectors.  

Historically, there have been repeated international observations about violence by the police and other security forces in Brazil. In early September, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed concern over an “excessive pattern” in security policies with respect to human rights. It cited as examples the killings of Igor Oliveira, Guilherme Dias Santos and Jeferson de Souza, all young men aged 24 to 30, some of them of African descent. All these deaths occurred in the context of police operations between May and July of this year. In all of these episodes, an excessive use of violence was observed. 

In response to these and other events, the IACHR issued a statement reminding the Brazilian government of the need to create a model of citizen security with special emphasis on the protection of human rights and the inclusion of gender-sensitive criteria. It also recommended promoting the use of tactics that reduce lethality, as well as carrying out far-reaching reforms of police protocols on the use of force. 

Security and violence in Brazil: the precedent of Carandiru

One of the most notable precedents in Brazil’s history of violence and security is the well-remembered Carandiru prison massacre of 1992, in which an inmate riot ended with the killing of more than 100 prisoners at the hands of the São Paulo military police. Eighty-five of those victims were shot at point-blank range in their own cells.

In 2000, the aforementioned IACHR issued an extensive report on the case, setting out how the episode unfolded and taking a position on the responsibilities of the State and the actors involved. In the document, the Commission concluded that the Brazilian state had indeed committed violations of the right to life, that the events constituted a “massacre,” and demanded an investigation of those responsible. In 2013, the United Nations highlighted and welcomed the conviction of 23 police officers involved in the case, handed down by a São Paulo court.

Guillermo Whpei

President of Fundación para la Democracia