Rio de janeiro: Brazil’s top security official has defended a massive police operation that has become the bloodiest crackdown on organized crime in the country’s history, asserting its legality in enforcing a court order. This comes as authorities showcased seized weapons at police headquarters.

According to Thai News Agency, Rio de Janeiro police public security secretary Felipe Curi addressed reporters at a news conference, stating that officers were conducting a lawful state operation to implement court orders, which included 180 search and seizure warrants and approximately 100 arrest warrants.

In reaction to the operation, residents of a favela community took to the streets, riding motorcycles to Rio de Janeiro’s municipal government building to demand justice after the police action on Tuesday resulted in at least 119 deaths. Protesters, waving red-stained Brazilian flags, assembled at the government building, holding banners and voicing calls for investigation and accountability.

The Rio police reported that Tuesday’s operation led to the deaths of at least 119 people, including four police officers, while a public defender indicated that the final death toll could reach at least 132. This operation marks the deadliest police raid in Rio de Janeiro’s history, surpassing the 2021 incident in the Jacarezinho neighborhood, which resulted in 28 fatalities.