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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who documented the consequences of a massive law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has reported how residents returned with mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The victims "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", Bruno Itan stated. They included security forces.

One of the bodies was found without a head - additional victims were "severely damaged", he explained. Numerous victims displayed evidence of blade trauma.

In excess of 120 victims were fatally injured during the security action on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation Rio has experienced.

The photographer stated that he initially learned concerning the action early on Tuesday by residents living in Alemão, who sent him messages alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were coming in.

The photographer stated that the police blocked media personnel from going into the operation zone, where the operation were occurring.

"Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and said: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who grew up in the area, reported he succeeded to gain access into the restricted zone, where he stayed until dawn.

He reported that evening, community members commenced searching the hillside that borders the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for family members who had been missing following the security action.

Residents from the Penha area organized the located casualties in a public space - and Itan's photos reveal the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of it all shook me a lot: the sorrow of the families, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, weeping, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The photographer

The governor of Rio state stated that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 security personnel was designed to halting a criminal group referred to as the criminal faction from expanding its territory.

Originally, the Rio state government stated that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured in the operation.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

The legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to the poor, has put the final tally of casualties to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has managed to expand its territory throughout Rio state.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, together with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Per reporter Rafael Soares, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio extensively, the gang "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and serving as "commercial associates".

The gang focuses mainly on drug trafficking, but also smuggles guns, precious metals, petroleum products, beverages and tobacco.

Based on official reports, criminal affiliates have substantial firearms and authorities stated that throughout the operation, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of the state, the political leader, characterized gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and called the four police officers fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals.

But the number of fatalities in the operation has received condemnation from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "horrified".

At a news conference on Wednesday, Governor Castro defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We aimed to take suspects into custody without harm," he declared.

He further explained that the events intensified because the suspects had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals."

The governor additionally stated that the victims presented by community members in the area had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on social media, he said that particular individuals had been stripped of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that military attire, protective equipment, and firearms" had been removed from the bodies and presented video seemingly depicting a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse