The Special Operations Group ( pt, Grupo de Operações Especiais, GOE) is the
police tactical unit
A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. A police tactical unit's tas ...
of the
Public Security Police (PSP), the national police force of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal:
:* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...
. GOE was created in 1982 and has around 200 operatives. Although a police unit, the GOE is employed worldwide, similar to the French
GIGN
The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (s ...
or to the German
GSG 9
, formerly (), is the police tactical unit of the German Federal Police ''( Bundespolizei)''. The state police (''Landespolizei'') maintain their own tactical units known as the ''Spezialeinsatzkommando'' (SEK). The identities of GSG 9 members ...
.
History
In 1978, ''Quinta das Águas Livres'' in
Sintra
Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populat ...
was acquired and the construction works of the infrastructures necessary to organise the instruction activities and to accommodate the distinct elements that would form a future operational group began.
Alongside, also began studies regarding the creation of the GOE and, with the co-operation of the
British government, thanks to the efforts of
Mota Pinto's government, elements of the
22nd Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) came to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal:
:* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...
to train and start the formation of a
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest a ...
group able to conduct
anti-terrorist missions.
On March 29, 1982, the first ''COE – Curso de Operações Especiais'' (Special Operations Course) began (not to be mistaken with
CTOE's COE). The course ended on November 18 of the same year; the unit was considered to be totally operational and with an intervention capability since the end of 1982, although it was formally created in 1979. As a result of that approach between the British SAS and the Portuguese GOE, the pictures of the first agents are hard to distinguish between British and Portuguese since their uniforms, equipment and weaponry are identical. Later, GOE, still maintaining a strong relationship with the SAS, also began training with the US
Delta Force
The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Fo ...
, Germany's
GSG 9
, formerly (), is the police tactical unit of the German Federal Police ''( Bundespolizei)''. The state police (''Landespolizei'') maintain their own tactical units known as the ''Spezialeinsatzkommando'' (SEK). The identities of GSG 9 members ...
, Spain's
Guardia Civil
The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the a ...
Anti-Terrorist units, Ireland's
Garda ERU, and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i Anti-Terrorist units. GOE is also part of the European
ATLAS Network
Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups ...
.
GOE's capabilities were put to the test in June, 1983, when
Armenian commandos, using rented cars, invaded the residence of the
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
ambassador and wounded a PSP officer who was part of the embassy's security team, holding the rest of the people there hostage. The Prime-Minister,
Mario Soares, gave the green light to GOE to storm the building. Before this could be attempted, the terrorists accidentally blew themselves up, resulting in 5 dead terrorists and 2 casualties (the chargé d'affaires' wife and a policeman).
Since that moment, the missions assigned to the unit became more diverse and demanding. After 1991, GOE operational elements, together with ex-operators, began missions of protection of diplomatic representatives and installations in foreign countries where there are unstable situations or armed conflicts.
The level of operators deployed to those scenarios depends on the situation. GOE also intervenes if the evacuation of Portuguese citizens is needed: in 1992 in
Luanda
Luanda () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...
(
Angola
, national_anthem = "Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
), in 1991 and 1997 in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(former Zaire) and in other countries like
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...
,
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, religi ...
,
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
,
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
and, in 2011, in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
.
In those missions, they had to face attempts of forced entry into the diplomatic delegations by armed militants; the most serious being the missions that happened in 1997 in
Zaire
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
and in 1998 in Guinea; in the latter a
grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade g ...
was launched into the embassy building where the security team was. In 2005 they were sent to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...
and
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
to protect the Portuguese embassies and personnel in both countries. Some were also sent into
Timor-Leste
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-wes ...
in 2006.

Since 2006, the unit has the support of police elements from the famous Intervention Corps (''Corpo de Intervenção'',
riot police
Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots.
Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organi ...
unit) in the security of the Portuguese Embassies in Iraq and East-Timor. In August 2008 they were also assigned to end a robbery with hostages taking place in a
Campolide, Lisbon branch of the Portuguese bank
Banco Espírito Santo, involving two illegal immigrant armed robbers with Brazilian citizenship and six hostages. According to a statement from the
superintendent of PSP Florbela Carrilho, after several hours of negotiations, the GOE was forced to intervene, successfully taking out one of the robbers with a sniper shot to the heart, and injuring the other with one shot through the jaw. All hostages were released, four of them shortly after the beginning of the negotiations, while the other two hostages, including a bank manager were held until the end. This intervention was generally considered very successful.
Missions

*
Counter-terrorism
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...
* Hostage rescue
* High-risk arrest warrants and searches
* VIP protection
* Embassy and diplomatic security in dangerous countries
* Evacuation of Portuguese citizens from war-torn countries
Weapons
GOE officers may use a variety of firearms to complete missions.
; Handguns
* :
Glock 17
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was the ...
* :
Glock 19
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was the ...
* :
SIG Sauer GSR
SIG Sauer of Newington, NH United States manufactures a full line of 1911 styled handguns. The earliest models were very faithful to the John M. Browning designed Colt M1911 Pistol which became the United States standard sidearm and served ...
- chambered in the .45 ACP
* :
SIG Sauer SP 2022
The SIG Pro is a series of semi-automatic pistols developed by SIG Sauer in Exeter, New Hampshire. It became the first polymer-frame handgun from SIG Sauer and one of the first pistols to feature a built-in universal accessory rail and interch ...
* :
Desert Eagle
The Desert Eagle is a gas-operated, semi-automatic pistol known for chambering the .50 Action Express, the largest centerfire cartridge of any magazine-fed, self-loading pistol.
Magnum Research Inc. (MRI) designed and developed the Desert Eagl ...
in
.357 Magnum
The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
; Shotguns
* :
Benelli M4
The Benelli M4 is a semi-automatic shotgun produced by Italian firearm manufacturer Benelli Armi SpA, and the last of the "Benelli Super 90" series of semi-automatic shotguns. The M4 uses a proprietary action design called the "auto-regulating ...
* :
Fabarm SDASS Tactical
; Submachine guns
* :
FN P90
The FN P90 is a compact 5.7×28mm personal defense weapon designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. It can also be considered a submachine gun. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum firearms, ...
* :
HK MP5
* :
HK UMP45
; Rifles
* :
H&K 416A5
* :
H&K G36
* :
H&K G36C
The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle designed in the early 1990s by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch as a replacement for the heavier 7.62×51mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the ''Bu ...
* :
SIG Sauer MCX
The SIG MCX is a family of firearms designed and manufactured by SIG Sauer, produced in both selective fire and semi-automatic only models, and features a short-stroke gas piston system, which is inherited from the earlier SIG MPX submachine ...
* :
Accuracy International Arctic Warfare
The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed and manufactured by the British company Accuracy International. It has proved popular as a civilian, police, and military rifle since its introduction in th ...
* :
Accuracy International AXMC
The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed and manufactured by the British company Accuracy International. It has proved popular as a civilian, police, and military rifle since its introduction in ...
Vehicles
* :
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle (van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dodg ...
* :
Alpine Armoring PittBull FX armored car
Command
The unit is organized as follows:
*Command
*Support Services
*UEI (''Unidade Especial de Intervenção'') - Special Intervention Unit, consisting of:
**Command
**Three GOI (''Grupos Operacionais de Intervenção'') - Intervention Operational Group (1st, 2nd and 3rd), each commanded by an officer and includes 20 to 25 elements
**One GOT (''Grupo Operacional Técnico'') - Technical Operational Group (4th) responsible for instruction, handling explosives, police dogs and other technical instruments, such as cameras and night vision devices.
Macau GOE
As one of the past Portuguese colonies,
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
set up their special police unit in 1993 with the same name of Grupo de Operações Especiais.
Like the Hong Kong
Special Duties Unit
The Special Duties Unit (SDU; ), nicknamed the "Flying Tigers" (), is the elite tactical unit of the Hong Kong Police Force tasked with countering terrorist attacks, hostage rescue, underwater search and recovery, and tackling serious crime i ...
trained by the British
Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-ter ...
, the Macau GOE works and trains similar to the Portuguese GOE, in which they respond to terrorism acts and engage heavily armed criminals in the Macau territory.
The Macau counterpart use similar armaments compared to the original GOE, such as the:
*
SIG Sauer P226
Sig used as a name may refer to:
* Sig (given name)
* Sig, Algeria, a city on the banks of the Sig River
* Sig Alert, an alert for traffic congestion in California, named after Loyd Sigmon
* Sig River, a river of Algeria also known as Mekerra
sig ...
*
SIG Sauer P228
*
Glock 19
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was the ...
*
Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP ...
*
Heckler & Koch G36
The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle designed in the early 1990s by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch as a replacement for the heavier 7.62×51mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the ''B ...
But they also use some small arms unique to the Portuguese GOE, such as the:
*
Brügger & Thomet MP9
*
SIG SG 552
The SG 550 is an assault rifle manufactured by Swiss Arms AG (formerly a division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, now known as SIG Holding AG) in Switzerland. "SG" is an abbreviation for ''Sturmgewehr'' ("assault rifle"). The rifle ...
*
Franchi SPAS-15
The Franchi SPAS-15 is a dual-mode 12 gauge combat shotgun manufactured by the Italian company Luigi Franchi S.P.A.
Design
The weapon is based on the SPAS-12, and has similar pump-action/ semi-automatic firing modes. In semi-automatic mode, ...
*
SIG Sauer SSG 3000
They also use:
* Smith & Wesson 37 mm gas launchers
*
long batons
*
Flash-ball
See also
*
List of police tactical units
This is a list of active police tactical units.
Definition
Police tactical units are specialized units of a police force tasked with resolving high risk / critical incidents, including:
* high risk armed offender / suspect searches / apprehe ...
*
ATLAS Network
Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups ...
References
External links
GOE page at the official PSP website(''in Portuguese'')
Video of the 2008 Lisbon bank robbery and the GOE actionVideo of 1980s GOE in trainingGOE in Baghdad(''in Portuguese'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grupo De Operacoes Especiais (Portugal)
1982 establishments in Portugal
Special forces of Portugal
Law enforcement in Portugal
Non-military counterterrorist organizations
ATLAS Network