Brazil Reels as Deadliest-Ever Police Raids Claim 119 Lives

Residents stand next to bodies on Sao Lucas Square in the Vila Cruzeiro favela, following the police operation in Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 29.Photographer: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty Images

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By Andrew Rosati, Gabriel Diniz Tavares, and Augusta Saraiva

October 29, 2025 at 7:15 PM UTC

Updated on

October 30, 2025 at 12:30 AM UTC

Leia em português.

Brazil was on edge Wednesday following a historically lethal police operation in Rio de Janeiro that turned the nation’s focus to the scourge of drug gangs and heavy-handed tactics used to combat them.