RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -The U.S. expressed condolences to Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state for the four police officers killed in a raid that left over 100 people dead last week, while also offering any support needed, a letter seen by Reuters from a U.S. government official to Rio’s security head showed.

The raid targeting the Comando Vermelho gang has been described by Rio state officials as a success. Conservative Governor Claudio Castro said the “only real victims” were the police officers killed, and that all the others killed were criminals.

The November 4 letter signed by James Sparks, a Drug Enforcement Administration official in the U.S. Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro, expressed condolences for the police officers but did not mention the others killed in the operation.

“In

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