Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro congratulated the "
warriors
" who carried out a police operation in a favela in northern Rio de Janeiro, whose death toll rose to 25 on Wednesday.
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“
Well done to the warriors who neutralized at least 20 misfits linked to the drug trade after being attacked during an operation against the leaders of a criminal faction,
” the head of state tweeted late Tuesday evening.
The president said he was indignant at "
the inversion of values of part of the media
", which "
exempts the thugs from all responsibility
".
"
The left doesn't want you to realize the reality of drug trafficking in Brazil
," he also tweeted.
"
They demonize the police and treat criminals as if they were victims, not cruel, heavily armed bandits who flout the law, oppress, extort, threaten and kill anyone without fear
."
He also deplored the death of an "
innocent
", Gabrielle Ferreira da Cunha, a 41-year-old resident killed by a stray bullet at her home in the favela.
She was buried on Wednesday, in the presence of half a dozen relatives, including her mother, inconsolable and prostrate on the coffin, who cried: “
my daughter!
“, noted a journalist from AFP-TV.
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The military police, who frequently carry out this kind of morning operations in the favelas of Rio against drug traffickers, claim to have been greeted by gunfire as they tried to "
capture hidden criminals
" in Vila Cruzeiro.
"Possible violations" of human rights
According to health authorities, two people injured during the operation died overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday at Getulio Vargas Hospital.
Another, a minor, died in a municipal dispensary.
Four patients remain hospitalized, one of whom is in serious condition.
On Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin said he was "
very concerned after this new police operation which has resulted in such a high number of deaths
".
The Federal Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday evening the opening of an investigation into "
possible violations
" of human rights perpetrated by agents in Vila Cruzeiro.
“
The situation is extremely serious.
The authorities must act immediately to suspend these police operations and prevent other people from becoming victims of this barbarism
,” reads a joint press release signed by some twenty associations, including Amnesty International.