Brazil intensifies crackdown on Comando Vermelho criminal operations

Law enforcement agencies in Brazil are intensifying operations against the Comando Vermelho criminal faction in Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. In Rio de Janeiro, the Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (Bope) has established an advanced base in the forested areas between the Muzema and Rio das Pedras communities. This move follows violent clashes between drug traffickers and militias that resulted in four deaths and the use of buses as barricades. Additionally, the Civil Police launched operations to dismantle ‘Equipe Astro’, a specialized armed wing of the faction responsible for territorial expansion in the Southwest Zone.

To support these efforts, the Rio de Janeiro state government and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security signed cooperation agreements to integrate federal and state forces. This strategy aims to recover territories controlled by organized crime and protect major transport corridors, including Avenida Brasil and access to the Rio International Airport. The plan involves intelligence sharing, financial investigation, and a permanent state presence through infrastructure and social services.

In Minas Gerais, the Public Ministry has taken legal action against members of a Comando Vermelho-linked cell operating in the Zona da Mata region. This includes the indictment of nine individuals for drug trafficking and social control over local populations. One case resulted in sentences totaling over 232 years of imprisonment for five members of an armed criminal organization. These legal actions are among the first to utilize the new ‘Antifaction Law’ to combat groups that use violence to dominate territories.