Rio de Janeiro police confront drone bomb attacks and bus hijackings

On July 13, criminals seized three public buses on the Estrada de Botafogo in Costa Barros, Rio de Janeiro, and erected barricades, setting fire to debris and tires to impede the advance of the 41st Battalion of the Military Police. The operation, aimed at dismantling cargo‑theft and vehicle‑theft networks, forced the Rio Ônibus consortium to divert seven bus routes (lines 778, 920 and 665) and required engineering units to extinguish the fires.

In the preceding days, a series of explosive‑drone attacks rattled Rio’s North Zone, particularly the Complexo da Penha. Drones dropped devices near Morro do Sereno, striking a house on Rua Maragogi and destroying a fiberglass pool; no injuries were confirmed. This incident was the third drone‑bomb event in less than a week, following similar attacks on July 30 and earlier in the month. The Police Civil has created a specialized unit to monitor criminal drone use and is investigating a cancelled training session (“aulão”) allegedly organized by the Comando Vermelho to teach factions how to employ drones in their conflicts.