Rio favela residents report lack of information after 121 dead in raid
Family members of those killed in Operação Contenção (“Operation Containment”) who were waiting for the release of the bodies on Thursday (Oct. 30) complained about the delay in the forensic process and the lack of information disclosed. Due to the number of bodies – a total of 121 dead, including four police officers – Rio’s Forensic Medical Institute (IML) has been exclusively assigned to this task. Relatives are being assisted at an automobile registration office near the institute.
Samuel Peçanha, a general services worker, was seeking information about his 14-year-old son, Michel Mendes Peçanha. His family lives in Queimados, in the Baixada Fluminense region, but used to visit the Complexo da Penha favela often and was there on the day of the operation after going to a baile funk, a funk dance party.
“I’ve been looking for information for two days. They said they’d call, but no one’s ever called or said anything. On the day it happened, I spoke to him at 8:40 am; he told me he’d be home later. After that, his phone went silent. People in the favela are saying they [the police] drove everyone into the woods. He’s our son. We want at least the right to bury him,” he said.
Similarly, Lívia de Oliveira was trying to find out when her husband Douglas de Oliveira’s body would be released.
“People have been coming here since Tuesday trying to find an answer. Unfortunately, it’s always the same thing. They say he hasn’t been identified yet, that we have to wait because there are so many bodies. How can we lay our heads on our pillows and sleep? It’s impossible, it’s agonizing,” she declared.
Yago Ravel’s parents demanded the right to identify the body of their 19-year-old son, who had been found decapitated. They were only able to do so after lawmakers intervened and visited the scene on Wednesday afternoon. Yago’s father, Alex Rosário da Costa, complained that he had been forced to sign the death certificate without seeing the body.
“My son was beaten, then he was executed and his head was cut off. At no point was I able to see his body. He was found with his body on the ground, his arms spread open and his head on a tree. This is carnage,” he said.
According to Rio’s Public Security Secretary Victor Santos, the people who were killed during the crackdown should be identified by the end of this week. At least 100 bodies have been identified so far, but the names have not been made public.
Funeral
In addition to the delay in obtaining information, the families of those killed in the operation face another dilemma – funeral costs. Family members had to choose between paying for a private burial, at a cost of at least BRL 4,000 (over USD 700), or accepting the free burial provided by the city, which is held without a funeral service and in a closed coffin. The Public Defender’s Office set up a service desk at the Forensic Medical Institute to expedite procedures for those who opted for the free service.
According to public defender André Castro, if the family does not meet the criteria for a free funeral, they may be entitled to the service upon payment of a nominal fee.
“There’s no need for legal action or anything of the sort. We’re providing guidance to families and contacting the funeral homes that provide the service directly. But for a long time we’ve been critical of the fact that it’s only a closed coffin and no funeral service. These are not conditions we consider dignified for saying goodbye to our loved ones. But many families really cannot afford it, and this has been a central request in our work in recent days,” he went on to say.
The police operation
The raid was jointly conducted by the Civil and Military Police and left around 120 people dead, including four police officers, as per the latest figures. Altogether, 113 arrests were made, including 33 prisoners from other states. A total of 118 weapons and 1 ton of drugs were seized. The crackdown aimed to contain the advance of the Comando Vermelho criminal organization and execute 180 search-and-seizure warrants and 100 arrest warrants, 30 of which were issued by the a court in Pará state, North Brazil.
The operation mobilized 2,500 officers and is the largest and deadliest in the state in the last 15 years. The clashes and retaliatory actions by criminals wreaked havoc throughout the city, with intense gunfire, main thoroughfares blocked, and schools, businesses, and health care clinics shut down.
