The Rio de Janeiro Military Police launched an operation on Monday morning (24) in the communities of Parada de Lucas and Vigário Geral, in the city's North Zone, to fight the religious intolerance imposed by drug traffickers in the area known as the Israel Complex, a cluster of favelas named after the Israeli symbols adopted by the local faction. In response, criminals set trucks on fire and blocked the Avenida Brasil, one of the city's main expressways. According to O Globo, four trucks were burned.
According to G1, the criminals drove the trucks across the expressway's lanes near Acari and set them on fire to block traffic. Teams from the expressway patrol battalion (BPVE), the tactical motorcycle battalion (BTM) and the crowd control unit (Recom) were sent to the stretch. R7 reported that the Avenida Brasil and the Linha Vermelha expressway were closed as a precaution, a step the police said follows the protocol for operations in communities near major roadways to protect drivers.
Second phase of the offensive
Monday's action is the second phase of an operation that began after police stabilized the Cidade Alta community and neighboring areas, according to the force. More than 200 officers were mobilized, with teams from the Bope special operations battalion, the K-9 and Shock battalions and the helicopter unit, plus five armored vehicles, drones and aircraft, R7 detailed. R7 and Folha de S.Paulo reported intense gunfire and burning barricades at the entrances to the communities.
Besides containing a territorial dispute between gangs and fighting vehicle and cargo theft, the operation targets what police describe as persecution and religious intolerance against minorities, including followers of Afro-Brazilian religions and other Christian groups. The faction that controls the area has adopted Israeli symbols as a religious reference. According to O Globo, one of the men arrested on Monday wore a bulletproof vest bearing the Israeli flag under the words "Bonde dos Taca Bala", with no institutional link to the State of Israel.
In Parada de Lucas and Vigário Geral, four men were arrested and police seized two rifles, two grenades, a radio transmitter, a vest and drugs, according to G1. In the day's tally, which included actions in the Chapadão complex, the Vargens area and Gardênia Azul, police reported nine suspects arrested and seven rifles seized. According to R7, the offensive is part of the force's strategy to restore policing capacity in the region and improve safety for residents.