On Thursday morning (13/08), the Military Police launched an operation aimed at containing the territorial expansion of the Red Command (CV) across several areas of Rio de Janeiro. As of the latest update to this report, three men had been killed in clashes, and five others had been arrested. The operation mobilizes 27 battalions, units from the Special Operations Command (COE), and the eight Area Policing Commands (CPAs) to execute arrest warrants, seize weapons and drugs, recover stolen vehicles, and remove barricades. In the capital, the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) is operating in Andaraí, in the Greater Tijuca area, with a focus on combating territorial disputes between criminal groups.
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Southwest Zone
Operations are underway in several communities across the Southwest Zone. In Cidade de Deus, residents reported an intense shootout before dawn between Military Police officers from the 18th Battalion (Jacarepaguá) and armed criminals. According to the Military Police, two suspects were shot and killed. Officers also seized two rifles, a pistol, two grenades, three two-way radios, and narcotics. A stolen vehicle was also recovered during an incident in Guadalupe. Police are additionally operating in the Pombo Sem Asa and Canal communities in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, as well as in areas of Vila Vintém and Batan, in Bangu, in the West Zone.
Operation Zero Barricade
Meanwhile, in the Chapadão Complex, teams from the 41st Battalion (Irajá) are carrying out “Operation Zero Barricade” to combat cargo and vehicle theft and remove barricades erected by criminals. In an attempt to block the advance of police forces, criminals set vehicles on fire and used them as makeshift barricades.
North Zone
In the Quitungo and Guaporé communities in Brás de Pina, in the North Zone, police reported that officers from the 16th Military Police Battalion (Olaria) came under fire during the operation. After establishing a security cordon in the area, officers located a man carrying an AR-10 rifle. It remains unclear whether he had been shot. Operations are also underway in municipalities across the Baixada Fluminense and the Metropolitan Region, including Duque de Caxias, São João de Meriti, Queimados, Magé, Itaboraí, São Gonçalo, and Niterói.
Analysis:
The scale of the operation demonstrates that the territorial expansion of the Red Command (CV) is being treated as a strategic security problem rather than as a series of isolated criminal incidents. The deployment of 27 battalions, the eight Area Policing Commands, and specialized units such as BOPE indicates an effort to apply pressure simultaneously across multiple areas, limiting the faction’s ability to reinforce contested territories. The seizure of rifles, grenades, communications equipment, drugs, and stolen vehicles also suggests that the operation is targeting the logistical infrastructure that allows armed groups to maintain territorial control.
From a broader security perspective, the operation illustrates the difficulty of containing factional expansion in a city where criminal groups compete for strategically important territories and transportation corridors. Sustained territorial pressure can generate repeated confrontations, expose residents and commuters to armed violence, and increase the risk of displacement as factions attempt to consolidate their positions.
