Published on October 30, 2025 - 11:54 AM Rio de Janeiro.
They blame the governor for more than 100 deaths.
Residents of Rio's Complexo do Alemão and Complexo da Penha favelas protested on Wednesday (October 29) outside Guanabara Palace, the state government headquarters. They accused Governor Claudio Castro of leading a "bloodbath in a police operation" that left more than 100 people dead.
- The group was escorted from Complexo da Penha to the palace by military police officers.
Protesters held banners with slogans such as "genocide state," "all lives matter," "150 deaths for political war," and "Castro assassins." Dozens of Brazilian flags were also displayed, dyed red.
It's unacceptable that this governor hasn't been held accountable for so many lives. Or do we already have the death penalty in this country? What's happening in the favelas is genocide. Every time a new election approaches, they plan operations to enter our favelas, kill our people, and wreak havoc," said Rute Sales, a local resident and Black activist.
- (The bodies are being used for political purposes. And the bodies that are falling are ours—the bodies of Black people and the poor. We can't take it anymore,) he continued.
The demonstration took place shortly before a meeting between Governor Castro and Minister of Justice and Public Security Ricardo Lewandowski. They announced the creation of an emergency office to address organized crime in the state and improve integration between the federal and state territories.
Minister Lewandowski said the federal government would increase the number of federal highway police officers on the highways by 50, as well as the number of intelligence agents in the state. Experts and positions in federal prisons are also available, if the state government requests them.
Despite the death toll, the chaos that gripped the city, and reports from residents that executions and torture were taking place in the favela itself, Castro said Operation Contenção (“Containment”) was a success and that the only casualties of the clashes were four police officers who were killed.
- He said he had dealt a "heavy blow to crime" and that there had been no malice on the part of security forces.
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