At least 20 killed in Rio de Janeiro police raid just days before COP30 climate summit events.
At least 20 people, including two police officers, were killed in a large-scale operation against organised crime in Rio de Janeiro on Oct 28, the state government said, days before the Brazilian city is set to host major events related to the COP30 global climate summit.
“We stand firm confronting narcoterrorism,” Governor Claudio Castro wrote on social media as he announced the operation, which he said involved 2,500 security personnel across the Alemao and Penha favela complexes.
The complexes are poor, densely populated settlements on Rio’s outskirts.
Authorities said the other 18 fatalities were suspected of connections to drug trafficking.
Rio next week will host the C40 summit of global mayors and Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, which will feature celebrities including pop star Kylie Minogue and four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Both are part of the runup to the United Nations climate summit COP30 taking place in Belem, in northern Brazil.
Large-scale police operations are not uncommon ahead of major international events in Rio, which hosted matches of the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Olympics, the 2024 Group of 20 summit, and the Brics summit earlier this year.
