Internal Tensions Run Rampant Amid Raids in Brazil’s Favelas

On October 28, 2025, police and soldiers launched predawn raids on two of Rio de Janeiro’s northern favelas, the Penha and Alemao Complexes, to combat drug trafficking activity by the criminal organization, The Red Command (Comando Vermelho). The public defender’s office, which provides direct legal support to the poor, reported 132 died as a result of the raids while Rio state Governor Cláudio Castro maintains that the death count is only 58. There has been conflicting information regarding the scope of effectiveness versus destruction from the state government and local journalists. This discrepancy points to the pervasive corruption that specifically infiltrates local governments in Brazil. In addition to underreporting the death count, the state government has also attempted to further justify the inflicted violence, declaring that “118 weapons and more than a tonne of drugs were seized.” Journalists, on the other hand, have emphasized the arbitrary nature of the raids in that favelas are home to all kinds of people, not just those involved in drug trafficking. Harmful generalizations that favelas primarily harbor illegal drug activity are untrue and rooted in an environment of government corruption that protects wealthy elites from persecution and accountability.

Comando Vermelho, Brazil 's oldest criminal group, has origins that can be traced back to the early 1970s in a maximum-security prison in Rio de Janeiro. While initially intended to protect members from state violence while incarcerated, “political prisoners and common criminals formed an alliance…during Brazil’s military dictatorship.” Eventually the gang expanded beyond prison bounds, and with it the severity of crimes committed by members escalated. Throughout the 1970s, the gang executed mostly low-level crimes, but during the 1980s, Comando Vermelho turned to the cocaine trade, partnering with established Colombian drug cartels and infiltrating poor neighborhoods. By taking advantage of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, the gang has been able to “leverage [their] relative lawlessness…into a safe haven for selling drugs to more affluent citizens.” It is necessary to consider that while favelas may be unconstrained relative to other neighborhoods, they are composed chiefly of everyday civilians. Brazil’s favelas and respective populations have long been subjected to maltreatment, particularly by political figures throughout the second half of the twentieth century, seeking to garner support from these communities through empty promises. Favela residents are now faced not only with the overwhelming natural impacts of poverty, but also with direct and indirect impacts of gang activity. 

As of October 2025, the gang is reported to be made up of over 30,000 members. Many of its members are young impressionable kids from favelas. While the gang has been described as having a loose hierarchy of leaders, composed chiefly of individual actors, a few prominent figures stand out: Luiz Fernando da Costa, Isaias da Costa Rodrigues, and Márcio dos Santos Nepomuceno. At the recent raid, the main target was Edgar Alves Andrade, the Comando Vermelho’s second-ranked main leader outside of prison. Andrade has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2007, and has been credited with the gang’s recent geographical expansion. His 189-page criminal record consists of “drug trafficking, criminal association, theft and robbery, homicide, torture, and illegal possession of weapons.” The failure of the police raids to capture Andrade further demonstrates the disorganized, unscrupulous, and aggressive nature of the state-sponsored police raids, underscoring their lack of effectiveness.

Notably, it is crucial to distinguish between the federal government and state governments, which possess significant autonomy over their respective regions. The federal government’s executive branch is currently headed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a centrist left-wing politician who served from 2003 to 2011 and returned to office in 2023. Lula succeeded right-wing Jair Bolsonaro by a narrow 51 to 49 percent vote margin in 2022. Many of the state government officials who orchestrated the recent raids in the Penha and Alemao Complexes were allied with the former president, who is now facing a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup to overthrow Brazil’s democratic institutions. The Rio region, where the brutal raids took place, is headed by right-wing Governor Cláudio Castro, who played a key role in the operation. Lula has acknowledged the recent violence, stating that, “there was a massacre, and I think it’s important to verify the conditions under which it occurred.” Apart from Lula, other figures in the federal government, such as Brazil’s Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, are “horrified” by the atrocities committed and shocked that the operation developed without the federal government’s knowledge. 

The disconnect between governance levels suggests the possibility of continued miscommunication in how to adequately address and quell gang activity. While a crackdown on drug trafficking is pertinent, determining the proper means to go about greater regulation has proved difficult. The use of lethal police raids over the past decades has only escalated tensions as death counts have grown exponentially. Critics of police raids highlight that they pose a major public safety concern as they result in casualties of innocent civilians, in addition to members of drug gangs. A viable consensus on more constructive drug trafficking reforms has yet to be reached. The federal government and human rights organizations have sent forces to conduct investigations into the operation. Additionally, Lula and the Senate have taken legislative action, though minimal, to strengthen efforts against criminal groups. Namely the creation of “an emergency office to combat organized crime…[and] a new law strengthening efforts against criminal groups, with the  Senate launching an inquiry next week into expansion of organized crime.” Only time will tell whether these actions will be triumphant in making the distinction between gang members and everyday residents of favelas, and hence quelling criminal activity.