REUTERS/Aline MassucaAt least 64 people died on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro's most deadly police operation ever, which targeted a major gang days before the city hosts global events related to the United Nations climate summit known as COP30. Police have often conducted large-scale operations against criminal groups ahead of major events in Rio, which hosted the 2016 Olympics, the 2024 G20 summit and the BRICS summit in July. The programming is part of the run-up to COP30, the United Nations climate summit held in the Amazon city of Belem from Nov 10 to Nov 21. The death toll confirmed by Rio Governor Claudio Castro on Tuesday, which included four police officers, was more than twice Rio's most deadly previous police operation. After the most intense fighting subsided, a Reuters journalist saw police from a special operations unit rounding up dozens of shirtless men.
