Members of the military police special unit detain suspected drug dealers during a police operation against drug trafficking in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday.
Members of the military police special unit detain suspected drug dealers during a police operation against drug trafficking in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday. 
Aline Massuca/Reuters

At least 64 people have died in a massive police raid aimed at organized crime in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, security officials told CNN Brasil. Among the dead are four Brazilian police officers, officials added.

Video obtained by CNN Brasil show several fires in the area of the raid, with audible gunfire in the background.

Authorities launched an operation aiming to “combat the territorial expansion” of the Comando Vermelho criminal group, Rio de Janeiro’s government added in a lengthy thread on X. The operation was in the works for over a year, the government said, and involved more than 2,500 military and civilian police personnel.

Comando Vermelho (CV) is Brazil’s oldest active criminal organization, according to the think tank InSight Crime. Its name, Portuguese for “Red Command,” is a reference to its origins as a leftist prisoners’ organization formed during the military dictatorship that ruled over Brazil until 1985.

Since then, CV has become a massive, transnational criminal group, involved in drug trafficking and extortion. InSight Crime reports that in recent years, it has struggled with escalating violence from the state and other criminal militias.

Gang used drones, police claim

At least 81 people were arrested Tuesday, according to a social media post by Rio de Janeiro’s Police Department.

Rio de Janeiro State Governor Cláudio Castro told reporters the death toll may rise as the operation is ongoing. Authorities also claimed on social media that at least 42 rifles were seized during the operation.

Cars burnt during a barricade within the Operacao Contencao (Operation Containment) at the Vila Cruzeiro favela, in the Penha complex, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday.
Cars burnt during a barricade within the Operacao Contencao (Operation Containment) at the Vila Cruzeiro favela, in the Penha complex, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday. 
Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images
People react while waiting for news outside a hospital on the day of a police operation against drug trafficking in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday.
People react while waiting for news outside a hospital on the day of a police operation against drug trafficking in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday. 
Aline Massuca/Reuters

During the raid, gang members allegedly targeted police with a drone, authorities said.

“In retaliation, criminals used drones to attack police officers in the Penha Complex,” Rio de Janeiro’s state government said in a post on X, sharing a video of what appears to show a drone firing a projectile from the sky.

“Despite the attacks, security forces remain steadfast in the fight against crime,” the state government added.

“This is the magnitude of the challenge we face,” Castro said in a post, before using a term popular among tough-on-crime leaders in the United States and Latin America. “It is no longer common crime, it is narco-terrorism.”

Castro also asked residents of the affected neighborhoods to remain indoors while the operation is underway.

This is a developing story and will be updated.