Greece launches an animal airlift to evacuate pets and their owners from the Mideast

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — This was an animal airlift. Dozens of dogs and cats arrived in Athens on Wednesday with their owners aboard a special evacuation flight for Greeks with pets who were trapped by the current war in the Middle East.

Emotional scenes unfolded at Athens airport as small dogs leaped for joy after being let out of their special travel carry cases. The government-organized Aegean flight from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates carried 45 pets and 101 people.

“Our pets are not luggage, they are part of our families,” said the Greek Interior Ministry's Special Secretary for the Protection of Companion Animals Nikos Chrysakis. He said the interior and foreign ministries had worked together for days “so we can have this good result, for the animals and people to return home safely.”

The Israeli and U.S. attack on Iran has wreaked havoc on airline travel across the Middle East. Countries have been forced to repeatedly shut their airspace and cancel thousands of flights in major airline hubs such as Dubai and Qatar as missiles flew overhead. Hundreds of thousands of travelers found themselves stranded.

For Danai Koukoulomati, finding a flight that would also take her cat Muay Thai was non-negotiable.

“To me, my pet, my cat is my family. There is no chance I’m going to leave him behind,” she said. But she couldn’t find any flight accepting animals in the cabin or in the cargo hold. “It is very, very difficult to fly out of the country with your pets.”

As for dealing with the war, Muay Thai was far more stoic than she was herself. When explosions sounded, “he would hide in the bathroom and that would be all. He was a calm cat,” Koukoulomati said. “I was not as calm as my cat. I need to take some lessons from him.”

Alexandra Papayanis, who has been living in Dubai for five years, arrived with her dog Sirtaki – named after a Greek dance – and a second dog she brought out for a friend. She too said she had struggled to find an evacuation flight that would take animals.

“It’s so important. I mean, our pets are part of our family,” she said. “And in these very difficult circumstance, the challenges we are facing is how to bring our dogs and our cats back.” Returning to Greece with Sirtaki “was absolutely fantastic,” she said.

For another passenger, Maria Theochari, leaving Dubai without her dog Matisse was unthinkable. “Like my kids, I have Matisse,” she said. “This is important for me. I don’t separate my animal or my kids, it’s the same for me.”

A repatriated Greek woman and her dog arrive at Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, after being evacuated from Abu Dhabi amid the escalating U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A repatriated Greek woman with her dog hugs relatives during their arrival at Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, after being evacuated from Abu Dhabi amid the escalating U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A repatriated Greek young woman and her dog arrive at Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, after being evacuated from Abu Dhabi amid the escalating U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A repatriated dog stands after arriving at Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, after being evacuated from Abu Dhabi amid the escalating U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro favelas on Wednesday killed seven presumed drug traffickers, including a gang chief, as well as a local resident caught in the crossfire, law enforcement officials said.

Claúdio Augusto dos Santos, a drug-trafficking boss and member of the notorious Red Command criminal organization, was among those killed in the operation in central Rio, Secretary of the Military Police Col. Marcelo de Menezes said in a press conference.

In retaliation, police said “criminals” set fire to a bus and blocked roads in Rio’s central zone. Some attempted to steal bus keys to use the vehicles to block the roads. Five people were arrested for acts of vandalism, police said.

Márcio Sousa, the driver of the bus set alight, reported that the attackers boarded the vehicle with two bottles of gasoline.

“It all happened very fast,” Sousa told The Associated Press during an interview. “There is no security. Rio de Janeiro is like this — it is not for amateurs.”

Police set up the massive raid after localizing dos Santos using intelligence, de Menezes said.

Some 150 military police officers were involved in the operation which targeted the sprawling urban communities of Prazeres, Fallet, Fogueteiro, Coroa, Escondidinho and Paula Ramos, according to the military police on X, who also said that weapons including rifles, pistols and revolvers were seized.

Dos Santos, the leader of drug-trafficking in Prazeres favela, was injured during confrontations, police said in a statement. He was taken to nearby hospital but did not survive his injuries, police said, adding that a woman who was with dos Santos was also hit and taken to the same health unit.

Police said there were approximately 10 outstanding arrest warrants targeting dos Santos, who had 135 entries on his criminal record. Authorities said he was also involved in the murder of Italian tourist Roberto Bardella, 52, in December 2016, who had entered the neighborhood by mistake with his cousin.

Dos Santos also led the criminal group that carried out a shooting attack on the city hall building in 2011, police said.

Police also reported a local couple was taken hostage and the man was killed in the shootout that ensued. The woman was rescued. Two police officers were also injured during the operation.

Military police personnel will remain in the area indefinitely to ensure security and guarantee freedom of movement, de Menezes said, who referred to drug traffickers as “ narco-terrorists ” – a term used by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Last year, a huge raid against Red Command resulted in more than 120 deaths in Penha and Complexo de Alemao favelas, the most lethal in Rio’s history. The death toll sparked protests and calls for Gov. Cláudio Castro’s resignation.

Wednesday's operation also generated criticism, including by left-wing state lawmaker Renata Souza.

“Another day of panic and fear in Rio de Janeiro,” Souza said on X. “This is Governor Cláudio Castro’s policy of public insecurity, without planning and or intelligence” that fails to produce concrete results and “produces death,” she said.

Separately, also on Wednesday, a specialized task force launched a nationwide operation across 15 Brazilian states to fight criminal organizations, drug and arms trafficking, money laundering and other crimes, federal police said in a statement.

Authorities said some 116 people were arrested, more than 450,000 reais (around $85,000) seized and 97 million reais (some $18 million) worth of assets and funds frozen. One boat and 86 vehicles were also seized, police added.

Red Command has more than doubled its presence since 2023 and criminal gangs are now active in nearly half of the Brazilian Amazon’s municipalities. A mega police operation targeting the PCC and its money laundering scheme involving investment funds and the fuel sector last August illustrated the depth of the criminal organization's infiltration in the country's financial system.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Firefighters work to extinguish a bus fire that was set ablaze by drug traffickers during a police operation in the Morro dos Prazeres community in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Military police patrol during a police operation in the Morro dos Prazeres community in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Military police patrol during a police operation in the Morro dos Prazeres community in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)