Massive police deployment targets Comando Vermelho leaders in Rio favela
The massive deployment ended late Thursday without immediate confirmation of any arrests
Around 1,000 police officers from the Military and Civil Police forces of Rio de Janeiro were deployed on Thursday in the Complejo do Salgueiro favelas in São Gonçalo to chase leaders of the Comando Vermelho (CV), one of Brazil’s largest and most influential criminal organizations.
The action was part of the second phase of Operation Containment, an initiative launched to halt the gang’s territorial expansion following a deadly mission in October that resulted in 122 fatalities, including five law enforcement operatives.
The move, which began at dawn, was supported by 20 armored vehicles and two helicopters. The primary goal was to execute 44 arrest warrants against CV members, although none of those goals was achieved.
The main target was Antonio Ilário Ferreira, alias Barricó, a 61-year-old drug trafficker identified as the main leader of the Comando Vermelho’s armed wing in São Gonçalo. Ferreira has been a fugitive since 2019, when he was granted parole and released from a maximum-security prison where he was serving a 27-year sentence. He is deemed critical to managing the gang’s local operations.
Despite gunfire at various access points to the complex, there were no reports of deaths, injuries, or arrests. Drug gangs had erected structures at favela entrances, some of which were set on fire, to block the advance of the armored vehicles. Officers spent time removing these barriers and clearing charred vehicles from the roads.
Operation Containment seeks to curb the Comando Vermelho, which originated in Rio’s prisons in the 1970s and has since expanded its presence across most Brazilian states and neighboring regions. The first phase of the operation in October, which targeted the Penha and Alemão favela complexes, was criticized by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and is under investigation.
The massive deployment ended late Thursday without immediate confirmation of any arrests, leading to questions about the state’s capacity to permanently reclaim control of areas dominated by organized crime.