At least 13 dead in a police operation in the central favelas of Rio de Janeiro – Diario El Ciudadano and its region

The police operation has killed at least 13 people in the favelas of downtown Rio.

A police operation in Rio de Janeiro killed at least 13 people Friday in favelas located near the central district of Santa Teresa, authorities said.

"14 bullets were admitted to the municipal hospital Souza Aguiar, including 13 dead and one in serious condition," said the city health department in a note sent to the AFP.

The military police (PM) said earlier on Twitter that his intervention "had 12 shot dead" in the favelas of Fallet, Fogueteiro and Coroa, all located near the tourist area of ​​Santa Teresa, located on a hill offering panoramic views of Rio.

Since dawn on Friday, officers have been conducting operations in several downtown locations because of "shootings in the area because of the criminal gang dispute," as stated in a statement by the prime minister, a force of police dependent on authority. of each state.

On Fallet Hill, the agents "were greeted by gunfire and there was a clash after which at least ten criminals were found wounded in the streets of the community and taken to Souza hospital. Aguiar, "adds the report.

The operation in the neighboring community of Morro dos Prazeres resulted in two other injured suspects, according to the first police release, which reported no deaths.

During the interventions, the officers seized three badault rifles, 12 pistols and six grenades, in addition to two radio communicators.

A video posted on the newspaper page O Day He shows several police officers carrying bodies at the back of a vehicle.

"We will not stop, he has the #PoliciaMilitar," the agency said at the end of a tweet in which he recounts what happened.

Deadly Shootout

The favelas, popular neighborhoods where nearly a quarter of Rio's six million inhabitants live, are often the scene of shootings during police operations against drug trafficking or clashes between rival gangs.

According to the local press, a war between the Corros and Fallet hills factions due to the dominance of the traffic would have worsened since Wednesday.

Second richest and third most populous of the country, Rio de Janeiro is the victim of a strong wave of crime that has worsened since the end of the 2016 Olympic Games.

Last year, Brazil recorded a record 63,800 violent deaths, or 30.8 per 100,000 population, but in Rio, the rate is 40.4 / 100,000, according to the NGO Public Safety Forum.

In addition to the deadly nature of crime, human rights organizations denounce the sometimes excessive use of force by agents, especially in favelas. In 2017, 1,127 people died during police interventions in the state of Rio, according to the latest report from the agency. The same year, 104 officers were killed, most of them out of service.

Brazil is one of the most violent countries in the world, with powerful armed groups such as the capital's First Commando (PCC), headquartered in Sao Paulo, or Rio's Comando Vermelho (CV), allied to regional groups they challenge the control of the drug traffic, with periodic and bloody adjustments of the accounts in the prisons.

Crime is therefore one of the issues of greatest concern to the Brazilians, who chose in the October elections pro-speech candidates, such as the new president Jair Bolsonaro or the new governor of Rio, Wilson Witzel.

Last month, Bolsonaro issued a decree authorizing the possession of weapons. The congressional security caucus also wants to allow its role in a contentious strategy to reduce crime.

Every day seems to test the capacity of terror of the inhabitants of Rio. On Wednesday, a storm killed at least six people. On Friday, a fire killed ten people at the Flamengo youth football training center and a few hours later, thirteen people died during the clashes in the heart of the city.