Anguish in Rio: Photos show bodies lining the streets after massive police raid
Relatives mourn over the bodies of people killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang at the Complexo da Penha favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Original Publication Date: October 28, 2025 3:55PM
Publication Updated: October 29, 2025 11:24AM
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian security forces launched a massive daylong operation on drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas on Tuesday, setting off fierce gun battles that left more than 100 dead and many wounded, in what officials called one of the largest and most violent police actions in recent years.
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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT – Residents look at the bodies of people killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)Residents surround the bodies of people killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT – The body of a man killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang lies in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)Resident carry the body of a man killed during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)The bodies of people killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang lie in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)Men carry the bodies of people killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)Men transport the bodies of people killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT – A woman mourns beside the bodies of people killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang at the Complexo da Penha favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)Residents crie beside the bodies of people killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)A priest blesses the bodies of people killed the day before during a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)Police gather outside the Getulio Vargas Hospital where a colleague was brought after getting injured in an operation against alleged drug traffickers in the Complexo do Alemao favela where the criminal organization “Comando Vermelho” operates in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT – A police officer stands over bloodied people lying in the back of a police truck brought to the Getulio Vargas Hospital during a police operation against alleged drug traffickers in the Complexo do Alemao favela where the criminal organization “Comando Vermelho” operates in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)Police stand over suspects during an operation against alleged drug traffickers in the Complexo do Alemao favela where the criminal organization “Comando Vermelho” operates in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT – Getulio Vargas Hospital workers remove an injured person from a police truck after he was injured during a police operation against alleged drug traffickers in the Complexo do Alemao favela where the criminal organization “Comando Vermelho” operates in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)Police walk past a burned car used by alleged drug traffickers as a roadblock during a police operation in the Complexo do Alemao favela where the criminal organization “Comando Vermelho” operates in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)Residents gather around the bodies of men killed in a police raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang the day before, next to a banner reading “Claudio Castro Murderer,” referring to Rio de Janeiro state Governor Claudio Castro, in the Complexo da Penha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
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