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64 dead in Rio De Janeiro and the Brazilian federal government blames the cops. Today’s state law enforcement operation in Rio — involving 2,500 officers — targeted Comando Vermelho, one of Latin America’s most violent organized crime groups. The criminals fought back with military-grade weapons, drones and explosives, causing widespread terror across Rio. @LulaOficial’s federal government refused to provide support. Sixty-four people died. Yet within hours, instead of solidarity with the officers or condolences to the victims, the federal government turned its fire on the Governor of Rio and the state police, demanding explanations and hinting at investigations — as if the real problem were enforcement, not the criminal army controlling urban territory. This reaction reveals a government that cannot decide which side of the fight it’s on — even as the group operates with military weapons, runs cross-border operations, and destabilizes entire regions. When a government refuses to confront organized crime and blames the forces that do, the result is to strengthen the dominance of these groups. At best, this is incompetence. At worst, complicity. And either way, it leaves millions of law-abiding Brazilians trapped between criminal firepower and political cowardice. Tonight, the thoughts should be with the families of the 64 Brazilians who lost their lives — civilians, officers, and innocents alike — caught in the crossfire of a war they never asked for. They deserve justice, not blaming law enforcement. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/world/brazil-ri...