Brazilian police were today accused of horrific brutality in a deadly gang crackdown before international heads of state and dignitaries arrived in the country for the COP30 climate summit.
Officers have been accused of beheading a teenage gangster and hanging his head from a tree after the country's deadliest favela raid.
This happens just a few days before Brazil configured for hosting Prince William and world leaders at the COP30 climate summit, which begins on November 11 and will be a global showcase for the country.
In ongoing violence in the favelas, gangs have drone-bombed police in retaliation for a brutal crackdown in the Peña region.
“This is how criminals are treating Rio police: dropping bombs from drones,” a police spokesman said.
“This is the scale of the problem we face. This is not usual crimeand narco-terrorism.”
The resident added: “This is the first time we have seen criminal drones dropping bombs on a community. Everyone is terrified because there is so much shooting around.”
The air attacks came after a brutal police crackdown left at least 119 people dead, highlighting the city's controversial war against drug gangs entrenched in its poorest neighborhoods.
Rio de Janeiro's gang war has turned shockingly violent, with police accused of beheading a teenage gangster and hanging his head from a tree after the deadliest raid in Brazil's favelas. Pictured: Residents look at the bodies of people killed on Tuesday in Brazil.
A man looks at the bodies of people killed during a police raid against the Comando Vermelho gang in the Complexo da Penha favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 29, 2025.
Bodies are lined up in Plaza San Lucas in the Vila Cruzeiro favela in the Penha complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 29, 2025.
A woman mourns the bodies of people killed during a gang raid in Brazil on Tuesday
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for action against organized crime that does not threaten police or civilians as Brazil's security problems were laid bare.
Families of the victims condemned what they called executions by police, while the state government hailed a successful operation against a powerful criminal group that has seized large swaths of Rio de Janeiro.
A controversial police raid has exposed the violent underbelly of a city beloved by tourists for its idyllic beaches and vibrant culture.
State authorities said the preliminary death toll now stands at 119, including 115 suspected criminals and four police officers.
“We cannot accept that organized crime continues to destroy families, oppress residents and spread drugs and violence throughout cities,” Lula wrote on X.
“We need a coordinated effort that hits at the heart of drug trafficking without putting innocent police officers, children and families at risk.”
The 80-year-old veteran leftist is seeking a fourth term in elections in 2026, in which Brazil's security concerns are expected to be a major campaign issue.
Bodies piled up in poor neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 28 as police launched the biggest-ever raids on drug dealers in the city, leaving at least 132 people dead in warlike scenes.
Drone footage shows mourners gathering around bodies on October 29, 2025 in Brazil.
Relatives mourn next to the bodies of people killed in Tuesday's gangland raid in Brazil.
Some 2,500 heavily armed officers, backed by armored vehicles, helicopters and drones, took part in an operation to destroy Brazil's main drug gang in two favelas in Rio.
He sent his justice minister, Ricardo Lewandowski, to Rio de Janeiro to meet with the state's right-wing governor, Claudio Castro, to offer federal cooperation.
Lewandowski told a news conference that he had offered to help Rio “to overcome this security crisis as quickly as possible.”
The Prince of Wales, 43, travels to the capital next week to attend the summit and present his environmental Earthshot Prize, an award that awards £1 million for environmental innovation.
But after “unprecedented bloodshed” security is being tightened.
A source told the Daily Mirror: “Following unprecedented bloodshed during fierce gangland fighting, the government has called up thousands more officers and troops.
“All eyes will be on Rio while William is there and there is genuine concern that violence will flare up again while he is in Brazil.”
A day after a police operation paralyzed the city, residents of the Complexo da Penha favela discovered dozens of bodies, including one decapitated, in the forest on its outskirts, local journalists witnessed.
“They slit my son's throat, cut his neck and hung his head on a tree like a trophy,” said Raquel Thomas, the mother of the 19-year-old who was found beheaded.
“They executed my son without giving him a chance to defend himself. He was killed,” she told local media, her voice shaking.
“Everyone deserves a second chance. During an operation, the police must do their job, arrest suspects, but not execute them,” Thomas added.
Lawyer Albino Pereira Neto, representing three bereaved families, told reporters that some of the bodies had “burn marks” and that some of those killed were tied up.
Some were “murdered in cold blood,” he said.
The raid also raised alarms abroad, with U.N. chief Antonio Guterres saying he was “very concerned” about the number of casualties, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was “horrified” and called for a “swift investigation”.
Supreme Court Judge Alexander de Moraes summoned Castro to a hearing on Monday to explain the police actions.
Hundreds of police, backed by helicopters, armored vehicles and drones, entered two sprawling favelas on Tuesday that are the stronghold of the Comando Vermelho – the Red Command – Rio's oldest and most powerful drug trafficking group.
Police and suspected gang members engaged in intense gunfire as terrified residents scrambled for cover.
As the operation unfolded, authorities said, Commando Vermelho seized dozens of buses and used them to barricade major highways and sent drones to attack police with explosives.
Castro called the raid to combat what he called “narco-terrorism” a “success” and said the only casualties were police officers killed.
The operation comes after more than a year of planning to target gang members who concentrate their operations in labyrinthine communities that bear the brunt of the violence.
Military police secretary Marcelo de Menezes told a news conference that elite special forces deliberately drove the “criminals” into the forest adjacent to the favela, where much of the fighting took place, to “protect the population.”
Meanwhile, Civil Police Minister Felipe Curi said the bodies exposed in the street were in their underwear because residents had stripped them of the “camouflage clothing, vests and weapons” they had with them.
Authorities said 113 people were detained and 91 rifles were seized, as well as large amounts of drugs.
