Started on November 24, Operation Barricade Zero — carried out by the state government, in partnership with the town halls of the metropolitan region, with the aim of removing the blockades installed by criminals in the streets of Rio — ends in one month, with a balance of 6,594.5 tons removed to date. Its weight is almost six times greater than that of the statue of Christ the Redeemer. About half of all this material was in the town of São Gonçalo, where 3,144 tons of barricades were removed, among rubble, metal beams and other obstacles.
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In the city, the main critical point was the community of Jardim Catarina, where 2,050 tons of these blockages were removed, work that required the help of backhoes, for example. The other municipalities where the most barricades were removed, by weight, were the capital Rio de Janeiro (1,284 tons) and Duque de Caxias (868 tons).
In total, the state of Rio estimates that it has already cleared 1,555 streets, with an average of 4.2 tonnes removed per road cleared. Coordinated by the State Institutional Security Office (GSI-RJ), the operation brings together civil and military police, as well as state services and municipalities, using heavy equipment to dismantle the structures.
The operation, still ongoing, draws on data from the Institute of Public Security (ISP), which has mapped 13,604 blockade points with barricades in Rio, based on complaints, drone images and police files.
— Each freed road represents less power for crime and more security for the population. We reaffirm that no territory will be under the control of criminals. Any attempt to resist or reinstall the blockades will be fought rigorously, including a visit from the BOPE — notes Governor Cláudio Castro.
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