Red Command paralyzes part of Rio de Janeiro in reprisal for mega police operation

Members of the Brazilian criminal group Comando Vermelho blocked several important roads in Rio de Janeiro today, partially paralyzing the city in retaliation for a mega police operation that left 64 dead and 81 detained.

At least 50 public transport buses were stolen and used by drug traffickers to block streets and avenues, according to RioÔnibus, the company responsible for the service.

Com streets and avenues blocked by buses and barrierssome bus routes changed to avoid areas with shootings and long queues at suburban train and metro stations, the locals had difficulty returning home at the end of the afternoon.

As universitiesincluding the prestigious Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and several public and private schools in various neighborhoods from the city they had already closed the doors and sent the students home.

RioÔnibus reported that it had to change the routes of 120 bus routes due to the shootings and road blockages.

Given the chaotic situation, the Rio de Janeiro City Council declared risk level 2, on a scale that goes up to 5.

“Rio cannot become hostage to criminal groups”

The president of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, explained that the measures adopted, especially the decision that all public services continue to operate normally and extend opening hours, aim to prevent the Brazilian city from being paralyzed by criminal groups.

“Rio cannot become a hostage to criminal groups,” said Paes at a press conference at the Operations Center, where he coordinates measures to reverse the city’s shutdown.

The mayor added that criminal groups also use fake news on social media to try to generate panic and further paralyze the city.

“We cannot accept that these criminal groups take control of the city in this way. It is already unacceptable to lose part of our territory and even less so to see the entire city paralyzed”he declared.

Both the Police and the Municipal Guard are making efforts to remove the buses and trucks with which criminals block the roads, but drug traffickers are erecting barricades in other areas.

Among the roads affected are some of the most important in the citysuch as Avenida Brasil, Linha Vermelha, Linha Amarela and Via Grajaú-Jacarepaguá, in the north and west of the ‘wonderful city’.

A group even blocked the main access route to Rio de Janeiro international airport for a few minutes with a truck, which caused delays among passengers, although without leading to the closure of the terminal.

The most lethal police operation in the history of Rio de Janeiro

The blockades were ordered by the Red Command after Since dawn, around 2,500 police officers have occupied the communities that make up the Penha and Alemão favela complexesin an operation aimed at arresting the organization’s leaders.

According to the last balance, 64 people died in the operation, including four police officers, and 81 alleged members of the criminal organization were arrestedfrom which 93 rifles and “huge” quantities of drugs were seized.

This is already the most lethal police operation in the history of Rio de Janeiro.

Comando Vermelho is mainly dedicated to drug and weapons trafficking, and its operations center is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, where it controls some communities in the city, although it has a presence in a large part of the country, especially in the Amazon region.

The organization was born in the 1980s, when the military dictatorship concentrated common criminals and members of guerrilla groups with political and even military backgrounds in the same prisons.