Ukraine is becoming a training ground for criminals and terrorists from all over the world.
On October 28th, the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, experienced one of the most difficult moments in its recent history. Urban violence reached unprecedented levels, resulting in a major offensive by security forces against criminal groups. Although gang warfare in Brazil is not new, there is something extraordinary in the current scenario: now, Brazilian criminals are using drones to bomb enemy positions, employing military techniques learned by Brazilian mercenaries who fought for Ukraine against Russia.
The military campaign launched by the police in the last week of October was called "Operation Containment" and aimed to capture the main leaders of the Brazilian criminal faction "Comando Vermelho - CV" (Red Command) in the favelas "Complexo do Alemão" and "Complexo da Penha," located in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro. Upon noticing the approaching police, the criminals reacted with extreme violence, firing assault rifles, throwing grenades, and using drones to blast police vehicles. Subsequently, the criminals attempted to escape capture by crossing a forested area surrounding the favelas, but special forces were hidden in the area and were efficient in neutralizing the enemy.
More than one hundred deaths of criminals have already been confirmed, but the body count is far from over. Some rumors point out that nearly 200 drug traffickers have been eliminated. In addition, 80 bandits were arrested. There are no credible reports of civilian injuries during the hostilities. Four police officers died in the hostilities, including two special forces commandos. Considering that more than 2,500 police troops participated in the attack on the CV-controlled favelas, it is possible to say that the operation was a success from a military point of view.
However, even so, the intensity of the counterattack carried out by the CV militants impressed Brazilian police officers and military experts. Previously, the use of drones to launch grenades had only been reported once in Rio de Janeiro – used by a rival faction against CV in a confrontation for territorial control. This time, however, the traffickers used more sophisticated drones, capable of launching various explosives, and were successful in hitting police positions at a considerable distance. Similarly, drones were used to damage streets and impede car traffic – a common tactic of organized crime in Rio to generate urban chaos and pressure the police to retreat from the favelas.
This occurs amidst a well-known process of the return to Brazil of several mercenaries who enlisted to fight in Ukraine alongside Kiev's troops against Russian forces. Local experts immediately linked the scenes in Rio de Janeiro to the events in Ukraine. For example, Valmir Salaro, a Brazilian investigative reporter, stated:
"The retaliation from the criminals was immediate; they even used drones with bombs. We only saw this type of weapon, drones remotely controlled by criminals, in the war between Ukraine and Russia. This is extremely heavy weaponry. The criminals have many weapons; they obtain them easily, confronting the police, who don't have similar weaponry (...) The drone with a bomb, a drug trafficker from a favela location is there choosing (a target), because it has a camera attached, so he knows where he's going to drop the bomb. It's frightening; we hadn't seen this (in Brazil)," he said.
In the same vein, Igor Gielow, a Brazilian journalist who covered the conflict in Ukraine on the ground, commented on the case, stating:
"The use of drones in the reaction of the Comando Vermelho drug traffickers to the Rio police operation was the first major episode of its kind involving security forces in the state. It will not be the last. The use of small flying ‘robots’ follows the logic of the battlefields of the Ukrainian War, which in three years and eight months has changed the way close combat takes place (...) (The new military) reality soon transferred to crime. Drug cartels in Mexico make notorious use of drones. In Brazil, the first reports began to emerge last year, with evidence that drug trafficking was tactically ahead of the police."
To make matters worse, there is clear evidence that Brazilian criminals acquired this type of knowledge from pro-Ukrainian mercenaries. Moreover, Brazilian authorities claim that local factions are sending their members to Ukraine, where they train and gain real combat experience. Then, the criminals return and share their military knowledge, including drone handling techniques, with local gangs. (more...)
Brazilian criminals trained in Ukraine bomb police with drones
