ריו דה ז'ניירו, ברזיל: המבצע הגדול ביותר אי פעם של המשטר נגד כנופיות הפשע, לפחות 130 הרוגים

Over 130 people are reported dead in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Police conducted their largest ever operation against organized crime gangs in the city's history. NTD's international correspondent, Arian Pastor, is in Brazil and a warning, this report includes footage that some viewers may find disturbing. A pastor is seen crying in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, a day after state authorities conducted a major police raid, the largest in the city's history. Around 40 bodies were seen lying on the ground, waiting to be collected on Wednesday. Police raided two impoverished neighborhoods in the city, also known as favelas. Authorities were targeting one of Brazil's narco-trafficking organizations, called the Red Command or Comando Vermelho in Portuguese. Gangs in Brazil are in control of almost all favelas in the country. They use the territory to extort residents and sell drugs, weapons, stolen merchandise and more. In the case of Rio de Janeiro, many of the favelas are located in the heart of the city, in some cases less than a mile from some of the country's richest neighborhoods. Police sometimes try to keep the criminals in check by conducting raids in the favelas, targeting the leaders of the gangs. However, Tuesday's operation is by far one of the largest and deadliest the country has ever seen. My cousin was decapitated by special force troops. He didn't have a single gunshot wound. They just tore off his head and left him hanging in the woods. Now, a major criticism people often have with the police raids here in Brazil is that innocent people die during the shootout between police and the gang members. But officials in Rio are now saying that this wasn't the case with any of the 130 casualties during this raid. That's because almost none of the shooting took place in the actual favelas. So police knew that once they enter the favelas, the gang members are most likely going to escape through a nearby forest. So special forces waited in that forest and confronted the gang members there to not have the shooting in the favelas. It was all in the woods, so I don't believe anyone was just strolling in the woods on a day of conflict. And that's why we can easily classify them. And if there's any error in classification, it's certainly residual, which is insignificant. People outside the favela were affected as well. Armed gang members entered public buses, forcing their drivers to block major streets across the city. That's to prevent the police from getting through. Thousands of people report being in distress, not knowing what was happening as the city erupted in chaos. Now the opinions here on the ground in Brazil regarding this raid are divided. Critics of the operation say that these raids never really have a significant impact. People die, but in a few days, drug trafficking and crime just continue. Supporters of these operations, on the other hand, say that of course police has to do something and try to keep the gangs in check at least a little bit, because if you don't, they will slowly but surely become stronger, possibly even surpassing the power of the local government. Reporting in Brazil, Ariel Pastar, NTD News.