Brazil's Lula 'horrified' by death toll in Rio de Janeiro anti-gang raids

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00:00The UN is calling for a comprehensive reform of policing methods in Brazil

00:05after at least 132 people were killed in an unprecedented raid

00:09targeting a notorious drug gang in Rio.

00:12There were scenes of chaos as 2,500 heavily armed officers

00:17backed by armoured vehicles, helicopters and drones

00:20entered two favelas to execute judicial warrants for suspected gang members.

00:25Residents who spent the night collecting bodies

00:28and laying them in a central square

00:30are accusing the police of carrying out a massacre.

00:34Well, for the very latest, let's cross live now to our correspondent in Rio.

00:38Tim Vickery joins us now.

00:41Tim, police are being accused of using excessive force.

00:45Just how exactly did this death toll end up being so high?

00:50What happened?

00:52Well, the governor of Rio, Claudio Castro, right-wing governor,

00:56the man behind the operation,

00:58he and his staff are claiming that this was a complete success.

01:02That they had a strategy, which they've been working on for a year,

01:07whereby they would force members of this drug gang

01:11to flee into the woods between two of the favelas.

01:16It's a traditional hiding place, but they'd set up an ambush there.

01:20Now, the official toll from the Brazilian government now,

01:24from the Rio authorities, is 121 dead, four of whom were police.

01:30And the Rio authorities are saying that the other 117 were all members of this drug gang

01:37and that everything was done to limit collateral damage.

01:42So, they are claiming success.

01:45And this will play well with many in Brazil.

01:48It's a society traumatised by the reality of urban crime.

01:52And many will think, well, the only good bandit is a dead bandit.

01:56On the other side of the line, you have two criticisms.

02:01One, was the objective of this operation to assassinate rather than to arrest?

02:08Was excessive force used?

02:12And Brazil's Supreme Court will look into that.

02:15Another line of criticism will say, well, how effective is this really going to be?

02:20Rio's governor is claiming, and his security forces are claiming,

02:23that this is the most successful, it's the biggest blow ever to the drug gang,

02:30the Comando Vermelho, the Red Command, in the organisation's history.

02:34But critics will say, all right, over 100 of them have been killed,

02:3990 rifles have been apprehended along with drugs, and 113 arrests have been made.

02:46But the drug gang will have the resources to replace all of those rather quickly.

02:52How much damage has really been done?

02:55And the problem, surely, far, far bigger.

02:59This is not so much a problem of public security.

03:04It's a problem of sovereignty, with the drug gang being able to take effective command

03:09of a number of areas in Rio and increasingly throughout Brazil as well,

03:14especially in these favela areas.

03:17Now, getting rid of this drug gang,

03:19who gave an impressive display of force with their reprisals yesterday,

03:23effectively shutting the city down,

03:26getting rid of this drug gang will require much more than military-style police operations.

03:34So there are criticisms here.

03:36There are those who see this as a huge success,

03:40and there are criticisms that this isn't particularly effective,

03:43that when dealing with organised crime,

03:45it's far more effective to get a handle on the finances rather than kill the foot soldiers.

03:51And, Tim, how has the Brazilian president been reacting to all of that?

03:55We've heard that he's horrified by the death toll,

03:58saying as well that the police in Rio launched this operation without notifying the federal government.

04:03Yes, he has said that.

04:06At the time of the operation, he was flying back from Malaysia.

04:10So he took knowledge of this early this morning,

04:14and he is perturbed by the death toll.

04:18Lula, always a consensualist, an attempt to build consensus.

04:22So he had emergency meetings with some of his ministers today,

04:26and he has sent a committee, including his justice minister, to Rio

04:30to meet with the governor, Claudio Castro, who's a political opponent.

04:35And at the moment, they are working hard to try and present a united front

04:40to try and say all levels of the government need to be together in the fight against organised crime.

04:46Tim, thanks so much for all of that.

04:48That's Tim Vickery, our correspondent in Rio.

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