Lewandowski and Castro met in Rio de Janeiro,
Published on 10/30/2025 - 12:00
Agência Brasil - Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil's Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, and Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro announced on Wednesday (October 29) the creation of an emergency office to combat organized crime in the state. The goal is to improve coordination between the federal and state levels.
- Coordination will be shared between the National Secretary of Public Security, Mario Sarrubbo, and Rio's Secretary of Public Security, Victor Santos.
This is a forum where security forces can communicate and make quick decisions until the crisis is resolved. This is the embryo of what we want to create with the proposed Constitutional Amendment on Public Security currently being discussed in the National Congress. We want to build synergy between federal, state, and even municipal forces in facing this scourge," said Minister Lewandowski.
The idea is for actions to be "100 percent integrated" to overcome bureaucracy and respect the competencies of each agency, according to the Rio governor.
We are trying to remove barriers so that we can truly provide public security that serves our only client – the citizen," said the Rio governor.
The move follows Operation Containment in the Alemão and Penha favelas, which killed more than 100 people. The action is considered the deadliest in the country's history. In retaliation, criminals associated with the Comando Vermelho faction blocked roads in various parts of the city, using vehicles and barricades to obstruct them.
Lewandowski said the Brazilian government would increase the number of Federal Highway Police officers on the roads and provide additional personnel to the state intelligence sector. Experts and vacancies in federal prisons are also available, if state governments request them.
The meeting at Guanabara Palace, the seat of state power in Rio, came after Governor Cláudio Castro requested more federal support in confronting criminal organizations operating in the state. Castro said the state is acting "alone in this war."
That same day, Lewandowski said he had not received a request for assistance from the governor regarding the operation. The minister recalled that, earlier in the year, the governor of Rio had visited the Ministry of Justice and Public Security to request the transfer of a criminal faction leader to a federal maximum security prison, and his request had been granted.
(Narcoterrorism,)
The Rio government frequently uses the term "narcoterrorism" to describe organized crime. When asked about the term, Minister Lewandowski said it does not reflect the reality of the state.
Terrorism is one thing; criminal factions are another. Terrorism always involves an ideological component—political action or social oppression, often accompanied by sporadic attacks. Criminal factions consist of groups of people who systematically commit crimes defined in the Criminal Code. Therefore, it is quite easy to identify criminal factions based on the results of their actions," the minister said.
Lewandowski said the law clearly defines the classification of criminal organizations and terrorist groups.
These are two types of actions that should not be confused, and the federal government has no intention of confusing them," he added.
(GLO,)
Lewandowski and Castro ruled out the possibility of deploying the Armed Forces to ensure security in the state under the Guarantee of Law and Order (GLO) decree.
We are not expressing any opinion [for or against]. The GLO is regulated by Article 142 of the Federal Constitution. This is an extraordinary operation that depends on the request of the governor... or from local authorities who recognize the inability of local forces to contain the crisis situation," the minister said.
Castro also denied having considered requesting such action.
This (GLO) only came about because I raised the issue of armored vehicles, which we had requested on three previous occasions but were denied on the grounds that a GLO would be needed. The current situation of Rio de Janeiro's security forces is completely different from 2018. Today, we have a capable state security force," the governor added.
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