Rio 'Raid' Creates 132 Dead, Zero Accountability
The Independent reports on a police operation in a Rio favela, resulting in 132 deaths, calling it the 'deadliest raid in Rio’s history.' Conveniently, this framing sidesteps the continuous, state-sanctioned violence against Brazil's poor and marginalized communities, particularly those of Afro-Brazilian descent. These aren't 'raids' on 'notorious drug gangs' so much as mass executions in plain
sight, a pattern of extrajudicial killings that has long scarred Brazil. Amnesty International reports thousands of such deaths annually, disproportionately affecting Black youth, with fewer than 1% of police killings leading to convictions. The 2021 Jacarezinho massacre, which killed 28, was similarly framed as targeting 'drug traffickers'. One might wonder if the government-sanctioned violence
against its own citizens could be termed 'domestic terrorism' if the victims weren't conveniently labeled 'criminals.' How many more 'deadliest raids' will it take for the world to see this as a policy choice, not an unfortunate incident?