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The newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday, July 16, 2024, p. 24

The government of the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro launched yesterday a major police operation in 10 favelas in the western zone, with the aim of stopping the war between drug traffickers and paramilitary militias in the region. Some 2,000 agents from military and civilian corporations, as well as other law enforcement forces, participated since yesterday morning in the raid in neighborhoods such as Ciudad de Dios, Gardenia Azul and Rio das Pedras, near the luxurious Barra da Tijuca neighborhood. As of 11:30 (local time) about twenty people had been arrested, Governor Claudio Castro reported at a press conference, and stated that no clashes were reported, although he admitted that it is suspected that the leaders of the criminal gangs were alerted to the public security plan. The multi-police operation, which has no end date, seeks to put an end to the growing crime rate.