The United States on Thursday designated two of Brazil’s most powerful criminal organisations, the Red Command and First Capital Command, as terrorist organisations, escalating tensions with Brasilia, which strongly opposes the move. US officials said the groups operate transnational criminal networks and pose a security threat.
The United States on Thursday designated two well-known Brazilian crime groups, the so-called Red Command (CV) and First Capital Command (PCC), as terrorist organisations, despite opposition from Brasilia.
"CV and PCC are two of the most violent criminal organisations in Brazil," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. "Their influence and illicit networks extend far beyond Brazil's borders, across our region and into our country."
"Together, they command thousands of members and have orchestrated brutal attacks against Brazilian police officers, public officials and civilians," Rubio said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has made clear his opposition to this measure, which has broad legal implications in the United States.
The leftist leader's main rival in upcoming elections, conservative Flavio Bolsonaro, has supported the designation. Bolsonaro met with US President Donald Trump earlier this week.
The US began designating criminal gangs – such as Mexico's Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels, and Venezuela's Tren de Aragua – as terrorists when Trump entered office in January 2025.
In the Trump administration's view, the terrorist label makes it legally possible to undertake broader action – law enforcement, intelligence and counterinsurgency efforts – against the groups, their leaders and interests worldwide.
Countries such as Mexico and Brazil, with centre-left leaders, have been vocal in opposing the designations, while others like Ecuador and Honduras, helmed by right-leaning governments, have supported them.
Two stages
The measure announced by Washington has two stages: initially, PCC and CV are classified as "specially designated global terrorists".
With this decision, the leaders and anyone associated with them can quickly be subjected to sanctions by the US Treasury Department.
Rubio said in the statement that as of June 5, both Brazilian groups will be considered "foreign terrorist organisations".
This designation has more serious consequences, as it entails equating the PCC and CV with groups such as al-Qaeda or the Islamic State.
For decades, Brazil has been fighting the PCC and CV since they emerged in Brazilian prisons.
CV arose in the Ilha Grande prison, off Rio de Janeiro, in the 1970s, while PCC was born in a prison near Sao Paulo in the 1990s.
Despite the violence of these groups, which Brasilia acknowledges, the government does not equate them with terrorist organisations seeking to endanger the state.
The Trump administration considers the massive inflow of drugs and criminals from Latin America and the Caribbean to be a threat to its national security, on par with the worst organisations the United States has faced.
That is the same theory underpinning the controversial airstrikes since September on alleged drug traffickers' boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Nearly 200 have been killed in the strikes, which experts in international law and human rights argue likely amount to extrajudicial executions.
Snub to Lula
From a political standpoint, the terrorist designation is a clear snub to Lula, who emerged from an in-person Washington meeting with Trump earlier this month "very satisfied".
Trump, too, seemed happy after the meeting with his ideological opposite.
The United States and Brazil signed an agreement in April to combat arms and drug trafficking, and Lula acknowledged that Trump had asked him for greater cooperation.
Read moreBrazilian candidate Flavio Bolsonaro asks Trump to designate crime groups as terrorists
But Lula, who is facing a tough re-election bid, told the press that they still disagreed with elevating the fight against crime to an anti-terrorism framework.
Still, Brazilian security forces regularly conduct large operations against the groups, which often turn violent.
In October, a massive raid on CV resulted in at least 119 deaths – the country's deadliest such operation. Smaller clashes happen regularly.
The Brazilian presidential election will take place in October, with recent polling showing Lula ahead of Bolsonaro but not commanding a majority of the vote needed to avoid a run-off.
Violence was the top concern among Brazilians ahead of the polls, according to a Council of the Americas polling tracker, citing May data from data firm Quaest.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
