Civil and Military Police launched a new phase of Operation Containment on Thursday (11/12), aimed at halting the territorial expansion of the Red Command (CV) in the Salgueiro Complex, in São Gonçalo. Residents reported on social media that there were exchanges of gunfire during the early hours of the action. So far, authorities have not released information on arrests or seizures. Around one thousand police officers were mobilized for the operation, which seeks to execute 44 arrest warrants and 25 search and seizure warrants against key members of the faction.
This Content Is Only For Subscribers
To unlock this content, subscribe to INTERLIRA Reports.
Barricades
Armored vehicles encountered significant difficulty circulating through the favela complex due to barricades blocking the streets—some of them set on fire. Teams worked to remove the obstructions, including burned-out vehicles, which hindered mobility. A total of 880 military police officers and 120 Civil Police agents participated. The operation was supported by 20 armored vehicles, two aircraft, 123 patrol cars, and four ambulances from the Rescue and Salvage Group (GSAR), two of which are armored to ensure safer access to high-risk areas.
Targets
Among the main targets of the operation is Antônio Hilário Ferreira, known as Rabicó or Coroa, a 61-year-old leader of drug trafficking in Salgueiro. He was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison and had been serving his sentence in a maximum-security facility in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, before being released by court order in 2019. He is considered one of the most influential figures within the CV structure in the region.
Impacts
Due to the police action, the São Gonçalo Education Department announced that six schools located in the Salgueiro Complex suspended classes for the day, and eight family health units also remained closed. Although there were no reports of closures on the BR-101 highway, three bus lines had their routes changed as a precautionary measure.
Criminal Dominance
A survey by the Study Group on New Illegalities of the Federal Fluminense University (Geni/UFF) and the Fogo Cruzado Institute indicates that the Red Command continues its expansion and now exerts strong influence across much of the state. According to the study, four million residents of the Rio Metropolitan Region live under the control or influence of armed groups. In São Gonçalo city, where the operation took place, CV is responsible for more than 98% of the areas dominated by criminal organizations. Rabicó remains the central figure of the faction’s operations in the Salgueiro region.
Analysis:
Operation Containment marks another chapter in the increasingly complex struggle for territorial control in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region. The deployment of nearly one thousand police officers and heavy equipment shows both the scale of Comando Vermelho’s entrenchment in the Salgueiro Complex and the challenges the state faces in attempting to dismantle it. The difficulty encountered by armored vehicles—blocked by barricades, burned-out cars, and improvised obstacles—reveals not only the faction’s defensive capacity but also how deeply rooted criminal governance has become.
The targeting of Antônio Hilário Ferreira, known as Rabicó, illustrates how the CV maintains cohesion and influence through long-standing leadership figures who remain central to the organization even after periods of incarceration. His release in 2019 and continued relevance in the faction demonstrate the persistent limitations of Brazil’s penal and security systems in neutralizing criminal leadership.
The operation’s impacts—including school closures, halted health services, and altered bus routes, show the recurring human and social costs of large-scale police interventions. Communities in Salgueiro, already accustomed to instability, once again face disruptions that deepen mistrust and weaken public service delivery.
Sources: G1; Extra; A Folha de SP.
