Sao Paulo, ):At least 13 people have been killed in a police operation in Brazil launched after an officer was gunned down outside Sao Paulo, authorities said Tuesday, triggering calls for an independent investigation.
The crackdown on drug trafficking gangs on the southeastern coast was launched Friday, a day after a 30-year-old police special forces officer was shot dead while on patrol in the port city of Guaruja.
“Since the start of the operation, 13 suspects have died after attacking security forces,” the Sao Paulo state security ministry said in a statement, updating an earlier toll of 12.
The state police force’s internal ombudsman’s office is investigating more deaths stemming from the operation, and estimates the total number could rise to 19, newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported.
TV channel Globo News meanwhile reported that locals have accused police of torturing suspects during the crackdown, dubbed “Operation Shield.”
Guaruja, located around 60 kilometers (35 miles) southeast of Sao Paulo, is one of several port cities feeding Brazil’s economic capital. The operation, which officials said would last at least 30 days, is targeting the entire region, known as the Baixada Santista.
Authorities said they had arrested 32 suspects so far in the operation, including the policeman’s alleged killer, and seized 11 weapons and more than 20 kilos (44 pounds) of drugs.
Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, an ally of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, said Monday all the deaths had occurred in clashes with police, and denied officers had committed rights violations.
“It is unacceptable for criminals to attack a police officer,” he told a press conference.
“We don’t want confrontations, but we won’t tolerate aggression either.”
However, leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s justice minister, Flavio Dino, criticized the operation, saying the police reaction “doesn’t seem proportional to the crime committed.”
