The government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has called an urgent meeting for this Tuesday evening to address what happened during a police operation in the Comando Vermelho favela, located in Rio de Janeiro. The confrontation with members of criminal gangs based there left a provisional death toll of 64 people.
The meeting was taking place at the Palácio do Planalto in Brasília, where members of the Executive were discussing the events of this morning. This was part of the operation called 'Containment', involving some 2,500 personnel, which led to an almost unprecedented clash.
The operation took place in the Alemão and Penha neighborhoods in northern Rio, following more than a year of investigations. Similarly, and according to local police, the deceased were suspected drug traffickers who confronted security forces, although four officers also lost their lives, six others were injured, and 81 criminals were arrested.
During the raids, Thiago do Nascimento Mendes, known as Belão do Quitungo, a regional leader of the gang, and Nicolas Fernandes Soares, a financial operator for Edgar Alves de Andrade, one of the group's leaders, were detained.
On the other hand, it is expected that after the summit at Planalto, the government will send a delegation to Rio de Janeiro to meet with Governor Cláudio Castro, who was critical of Lula's administration. 'Rio was left alone during the operation,' he stated.
