About 2,500 police officers and soldiers stormed several Rio de Janeiro favelas on Tuesday in one of Brazil’s largest-ever anti-gang raids, arresting 81 suspects and leaving at least 60 people dead, officials said.

The coordinated operation targeted the Red Command, one of the country’s most powerful drug-trafficking groups, across the sprawling low-income neighborhoods of Complexo do Alemo and Penha. Helicopters circled overhead as armored vehicles rolled through narrow alleys, sparking hours of gunfire.

The police operation was one of the most violent in Brazil's recent history, with at least one human rights organization calling for an investigation into each death.

Rio’s Governor Claudio Castro said in a video posted on X that 60 criminal suspects were “neutralized” and 81 arrested.

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