Rio de Janeiro’s security forces launch raids in 3 neighborhoods

RIO DE JANEIRO >> Rio de Janeiro’s state government deployed hundreds of police officers early Monday to three of the city’s sprawling, low-income neighborhoods, saying it aimed to clamp down on organized crime groups.

Security forces targeted not only the Mare complex of favelas by Rio’s international airport, but also the adjacent Vila Cruzeiro neighborhood and the City of God neighborhood on the city’s opposite side. All three are controlled by the Red Command drug trafficking group.

Recent intelligence had indicated that crime bosses had migrated from Mare to the other two communities, Rio’s government said on X, formerly Twitter. It also said 1,000 officers participated in the three-pronged raid.

Residents of the communities started hearing shootouts soon after dawn, according to Fogo Cruzado, a nonprofit organization that provides real-time reporting of gun violence.