Brazil's new anti-gang law: Can it curb organized crime?

One year after the deadliest police operation in the history of Brazil, human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has leveled serious accusations against the country's authorities.

Contrary to legal regulations, most of the 2,500 police officers who were deployed to the "Complexo do Alemao" and "Complexo da Penha" favelas on October 28, 2025, did not wear body cameras.

In the course of "Operacao Contencao" ("Operation Containment"), police officers were expected to execute dozens of arrest warrants against members of the Comando Vermelho drug cartel that day.

The result: During hours-long firefights in the favelas, 117 alleged gang members and five police officers were killed. 

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Body cameras don't show the full picture

After analyzing more than 4,000 hours of video material, HRW concluded in its investigation that only around one quarter of the deployed police officers were wearing body cameras and that some were manipulated. Not a single deadly shooting was captured on camera.

"It's clear to us that a decision by the Supreme Court according to which the police in Rio must wear body cameras was violated," said HRW Brazil director Cesar Munoz.

The organization published its report in Rio de Janeiro on October 28.

Having analyzed the autopsy findings, HRW also concludes that many bodies show signs of execution, i.e. the killing of persons already incapable of fighting.

For example, 40% of those killed were shot in the head, and 75% were shot in the back. There were reasons to believe, Munoz said, that the operation "was obviously designed to be lethal."

The police operation carried out under the supervision of the state government of Rio de Janeiro shocked the country. However, there were soon calls to intensify the fight against organized crime.

Fighting drug gangs and militias

In response, the "Anti-gang Law" ("Lei Antifaccao") came into force in March 2026. It is aimed at combating criminal gangs like the PCC, a drug gang based in Sao Paulo, or the Comando Vermelho (CV), which dominates Rio. 

However, militias (gangs made up of corrupt police officers and soldiers) are also to be dismantled, both criminally and economically. "The law addresses a real problem," Rodrigo Ghiringhelli de Azevedo of the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety (FBSP) NGO told DW.

This was because the ability of criminal organizations to control territories, move funds and make inroads into economic activities and public institutions had expanded.

It was positive, he added, that the law extends tools for asset tracing, finance tracking, institutional cooperation and capital withdrawal to these organizations.

Another improvement, said HRW Brazil's Cesar Munoz, was closer cooperation between state security agencies. The federal police, which reports to the central government, was to play a greater role in combating gangs in the future.

In Brazil, military and civil police report to state governments. During the deadly operations in Rio de Janeiro's favelas, one year ago, command was under the authority of the state government of Rio de Janeiro — and, consequently, under the influence of local politics.

Overcrowded prisons and recruitment behind bars

On the other hand, however, the law was raising constitutional concerns, said the FBSP's Azevedo. For example, it provides for the automatic imposition of pretrial detention on suspects.

Other plans included expansion of grounds for arrest, restrictions on the easing of prison conditions — such as furloughs and the suspension of the remainder of a sentence — as well as an extension of the length of stay in prisons.

This could further exacerbate Brazil's chronic prison overcrowding. "Brazil already has one of the largest prison populations worldwide, and the law could accelerate its growth," said Azevedo.

In addition, prison overcrowding in Brazil had the perverse side effect of allowing crime syndicates such as the PCC and Comando Vermelho to recruit new members there.

"Overcrowded prisons without adequate government control facilitate recruitment and strengthening of the very criminal factions that legislation intend to combat," Azevedo concluded.

"It would be important to prevent gangs from recruiting young people and to show those who've committed crimes new prospects in life," HRW's Cesar Munoz told DW.

Rodrigo Ghiringhelli de Azevedo of FBSP also sees a constitutional problem in the cancellation of prison assistance — a benefit that the state paid to the prisoners' dependents.

"Its cancellation means economic punishment for those who haven't committed any crime at all, including children. This runs afoul of the constitutional principle according to which punishments must not extend beyond the convicted person," Azevedo said.

This article was originally published in German.