Vigário Geral massacre

The Vigário Geral Massacre (Chacina de Vigário Geral in Portuguese) occurred on August 29, 1993, at the favela of Vigário Geral, located in the north of Rio de Janeiro city. The favela was invaded by a death squad formed by 36 hooded and armed men, that broke in houses and executed 21 people. The Vigária Geral massacre was one of the biggest massacres in the Rio de Janeiro state.

Out of the 51 accused, only one was still in prison: the ex military policeman Sirlei Alves Teixeira that was found dead by neighbors on March 9, 2021, fallen on the steps that gave access to his house. The neighbors thought that the ex policeman had had a heart attack. With the arrival of SAMU (Brazilian ambulance service), it was listed that the ex military policeman had been executed. He was serving his sentence in a semi-open regime and had authorization to work outside of the prison and for family visits. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sirley was on house arrest since the past year.

The Vigário Geral massacre of 1993 came to be tried in the Organization of American States as a crime against human rights.