A police operation launched on the morning of Thursday, March 23, in the slums of Complexo do Salgueiro, in Sao Goncalo, in the metropolitan area of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, has claimed the lives of at least 11 people, all of them, according to police. , dangerous criminals. Violent armed clashes between police and suspected criminals were still taking place at various points in the complex early in the day, which could have increased the number of fatalities.
Thousands of innocent people were caught in the crossfire and unable to leave their homes to work or take their children to school, and there are reports of residents being injured, including two elderly women. Only after all the clashes are over, the police should make public the results of the military operation.
The action was attended by agents of the elite groups of the military police (demonstrative public security) and the civilian police (judiciary) of Rio de Janeiro, as well as police agents from the state of Pará in northern Brazil, since the main purpose of the intention was to capture or kill traffickers from that state who were refugees in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
The main target of the mega-operation, Leonardo da Costa Araujo, 41, believed to be the head of the drug trade in Para, was one of the first to be found and killed in the operation this Thursday.
Two military helicopters and five armored vehicles have stepped up the police operation, allowing surveillance and the arrival of agents by land to isolated hard-to-reach places where crime bosses usually hide. However, according to the information provided by the police at the beginning of the day, Leo 41 has been a refugee in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro since 2019 and was from the city that led the drug trade in Para, where only from 2021 will he be responsible for execution of more than 40 policemen.