The Secretary of the Military Police, Marcelo Menezes, revealed today that the bloody operation in the Rio de Janeiro favelas 'was planned for two months' before its deployment, which left a provisional toll of about 130 dead, most of them presumed members of the criminal organization Comando Vermelho. According to his explanation, the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE), the elite unit of the Military Police, established an 'impenetrable wall' in the forest area surrounding the Penha and Alemao favelas, usually used as an escape route by criminals. Meanwhile, other military groups advanced from different access points, pushing the suspects into uninhabited areas. 'We deployed troops all over the terrain. The difference, compared to the images showing heavily armed criminals seeking refuge in the wooded area, was the incursion of BOPE agents into the highest part of the mountain that separates the two communities,' he added. Likewise, at a press conference, Menezes stated that 'This action created what we call the BOPE Wall: a containment line formed by police who pushed the criminals to the top of the mountain.' The police raid 'was planned for two months,' said the official, although he revealed that the investigation tasks took a little over a year. 'THE BIGGEST BLOW' TO COMANDO VERMELHO Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Civil Police, Felipe Curi, considered today that the operation carried out in the favelas was 'the biggest blow' that Comando Vermelho has received since its founding in the 1970s. Furthermore, the official highlighted the magnitude of the loss of weapons, drugs, and leaders for the criminal organization, based in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro. The unprecedented operation carried out this Tuesday involved 2,500 personnel from different forces, but it left a deadly balance, as around 130 people died, the majority presumed members of Comando Vermelho. In any case, Curi maintained that it was the 'biggest blow' dealt by the authorities to that criminal organization and criticized the posture of the national government, headed by Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, regarding the condition of the outlaws as victims. 'Today in the day, the whole world is a victim. The trafficker has become a victim of the user.'
