Rio de Janeiro police operation prompts bus seizures and street barricades

On July 13, 2026, a police operation by the 41st Battalion of the Military Police (BPM) in the Complexo da Pedreira, Costa Barros, in Rio de Janeiro’s north zone, was met with criminal resistance. Armed traffickers hijacked three municipal buses – two from line 778 (Pavuna‑Cascadura) and line 920 (Pavuna‑Bonsucesso), and one from line SVB665 (Pavuna‑Saens Peña) – and placed them as barricades on the Estrada de Botafogo and Avenida Pastor Martin Luther King Jr. The blockades forced the diversion of at least seven bus routes and led to the temporary closure of 19 municipal schools, as well as the suspension of two primary health units and the partial shutdown of a third. Police units, including the Tactical Actions Group (GAT) and the Special Rescue and Salvage Group (GESAR), worked to clear the obstacles and restore traffic, reporting no arrests or injuries.

A similar incident occurred on July 11 in the Cordovil neighborhood, where rival gangs used a seized bus to block Rua Cordovil during a shoot‑out. The road was closed, and unverified reports suggested possible fatalities, though authorities had not confirmed them. Both events illustrate the use of public transport vehicles as improvised barriers by criminal groups resisting police actions in Rio’s northern favelas.