Police officers walk on a street during the Operacao Contencao (Operation Containment) at the Vila Cruzeiro favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 28th. Photograph: Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty
At least 64 people have reportedly been killed in Rio de Janeiro’s worst-ever day of violence as more than 2,500 officers and special forces stormed an area of favelas near the city’s international airport that is considered the headquarters of one of Brazil’s most powerful organised crime groups.
The predawn police raid – the deadliest in Rio’s history – sparked intense gunfights in and around Alemão and Penha favelas, which are home to an estimated 300,000 people.
Drug traffickers from the Red Command criminal faction started shooting an
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