‘Let us die’: Rio favela residents demand answers after sweep | Gun Violence News Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Monica Cunha felt she had to talk. The activist therefore joined another group of mothers — all of whom had been lost in recent years as a result of violence by the Brazilian state — to denounce the brutality of Rio de Janeiro. the deadliest police operation in the register. “We are disgusted,” said Cunha, who is still living with the scars of losing his son in a police raid 15 years ago after the violence in Jacarezinho’s favela last week. “I haven’t seen any protests on this scale in 15 years over teen murders. These boys are human beings; they have a name and a surname. We say no to these killings. “