The United States classified two powerful Brazilian criminal groups as “foreign terrorist organizations” on Thursday, May 27, overcoming opposition from the Brazilian government.
These groups, Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), “are among the most violent criminal organizations in Brazil,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“Between them, they have thousands of members and have orchestrated brutal attacks against Brazilian police officers, civil servants and civilians,” the same source added, specifying that their influence extends “well beyond the borders of Brazil, across our region and into our country”. The measure will be effective from June 5.
Flavio Bolsonaro’s demand
The United States has classified several South American cartels as “terrorist organizations”, which prohibits their members from coming to the United States, as well as any financial transactions with them under penalty of prosecution, and suggests a potential military intervention.
The announcement of these sanctions comes shortly after the conservative candidate for the Brazilian presidency, Flavio Bolsonaro, said he had asked US President Donald Trump on Tuesday to declare these two criminal organizations in his country as terrorist organizations during a meeting at the White House. The Comando Vermelho (CV) and the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) are two gangs originating from the Brazilian prison environment.
Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, currently incarcerated after a fall from grace linked to an attempted coup in 2023, is engaged in a tight race in the polls against current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, received by Donald Trump in Washington two weeks earlier.
The left-wing government has strongly opposed the designation of these organizations as terrorist organizations, which could potentially lead to US military intervention.
