Lieutenant Colonel Marcelo Corbage, commander of the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE), gave a statement about the intense confrontation that took place in a forested area of Serra da Misericórdia during the mega-operation carried out on October 28 in Rio de Janeiro.
He contradicted governor Cláudio Castro (PL) about the reasons for the conflict in the forest area and gave a different explanation about the “Wall of BOPE” tactic – highlighting that it was not a police tactic, but a trap by the Red Command.
The action that Tuesday involved several security forces and aimed to combat the activities of criminal factions in communities in the West Zone.
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According to information from G1, which had access to the testimony, during the exchange of gunfire between the police and Comando Vermelho (CV) traffickers at the top of Vacaria, part of Serra da Misericórdia, Governor Castro called a press conference in which he stated that the clashes were taking place “mostly in forested areas” and that they had been “designed to trap them there so that the population would feel as little as possible.”
However, Corbage gave another version. He said in his statement to the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) that the conflict took place there in the forest region due to a “unknown strategy” by drug traffickers in the Penha and Alemão complexes. The commander’s testimony will be attached to the documentation that will be sent to the MPRJ to the Federal Supreme Court (STJ) by Tuesday (18).
According to him, the operation planning was changed because the civil police officers fell into the “trap” in the forest region. He added that “the aggressiveness demonstrated by the criminals on this occasion deviated from all previously detected patterns”, according to information collected by G1.
From this, the BOPE commander claims that civil police officers suffered injuries and that BOPE had to intervene to help rescue these agents.
“Bope Wall”
Another point discussed is about a BOPE strategy, known as “Bope Wall”. The day after the mega-operation, on October 29, the PM secretary, Colonel Marcelo de Menezes, gave information about this tactic.
According to him, the troops were distributed across the land. Images of the operation showed armed criminals seeking refuge in this forested area, but BOPE agents positioned themselves on the highest part of the mountain that separates the communities. This movement was called ‘Muro do BOPE’, which became this containment line formed by police officers who “pushed criminals to the top of the mountain”, according to Menezes.
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However, to MPRJ, Corbage stated that BOPE’s original objective was not to operate in this area, but to guarantee a security perimeter in the forest, preventing criminals from different communities from gathering there.
In his version, the traffickers were already in Serra da Misericórdia and the tactic used was to “fractional” the criminal faction, in order to keep those involved restricted to their localities. This was how it was possible to prevent criminals from Alemão and other communities from traveling there and circulating with space.
The mega-operation is still underway and new developments are expected in the coming days. Authorities are asking for community collaboration to report suspicious activities and contribute to neighborhood safety.
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