This Monday (23), Rio de Janeiro had the highest number of buses burned in a single day

This Monday (23), the city of Rio de Janeiro saw the day with the highest number of buses burned in history, as confirmed to CNN Rio Ônibus, an entity that represents road transport companies in the capital.

At least 35 buses were burned in the west zone of Rio after a police operation that resulted in the death of the nephew of a militia member who works in the region. Until early evening, there was no confirmation of people injured or killed in the attacks.

See: Dozens of buses are set on fire by criminals in RJ

Dozens of buses are set on fire by bandits in RJ | CNN 360º

Reason for the attacks

According to the Civil Police, the attacks were carried out by a group of militiamen in retaliation for the death of Matheus da Silva Resende, aged 24, deputy leader of the gang. He died hours earlier during a confrontation with civil police in a favela in Santa Cruz, a neighborhood in the west zone.

Known as Teteu or Faustão, Resende was the nephew of Luis Antônio da Silva Braga, known as Zinho, who since 2021 has been the leader of the main militia group operating in Rio. Faustão, was second in the group’s hierarchy, according to the police.

The state governor, Cláudio Castro (PL), celebrated the operation in a publication on a social network, and said: “Organized crime does not dare to challenge the power of the State”.

Today we dealt a serious blow to the largest militia in the West Zone.
In addition to his relationship with the criminal, he acted as a “man of war” for the paramilitary group, being mainly responsible for the wars over territories that terrorize residents in Rio.

— Cláudio Castro (@claudiocastroRJ) October 23, 2023

The mayor of the capital, Eduardo Paes (PSD), said that those responsible for the attacks are, in addition to being bandits, “stupid”: “When the guy is not only a bandit, he is also stupid. Militiamen in the West Zone burn public buses paid for with people’s money to protest the police operation. Those who pay are the working people. And to make matters worse, we had to interrupt transport services in the West Zone so that no more buses would burn.”

What happens now?

After the attacks, Rio City Hall announced the suspension of classes in schools in the city’s municipal education network. The information was confirmed on social media by Rio’s municipal secretary of Education, Renan Ferreirinha. “Our teams are monitoring closely to minimize the damage caused by this war to the lives of Rio de Janeiro residents, especially our students and professionals”, wrote the head of the department.

The incidents caused the municipality to enter into a state of attention, according to the City Hall Operations Center. According to the agency, the attention stage “is the third level on a scale of five and means that one or more incidents already impact the municipality, affecting the routine of part of the population”.

Published by Leonardo Rodrigues. With information from João Victor Azevedo, Catarina Nestlehner, Letícia Cassiano and Marcos Rosendo.