From a legal and practical point of view, terrorism and criminal organizations, although they share the use of violence as a common trait, are considered distinct criminal phenomena by experts. The main separation lies in the purpose and nature of the acts performed.
Terrorist groups seek to impose a political, ideological, religious or social agenda through widespread fear, while criminal organizations have an essentially economic objective, aimed at profiting from illicit activities.
“From a legal and practical point of view, terrorism and criminal organizations are distinct phenomena, even though their common feature is the use of violence”, says Enzo Fachini, lawyer and master in Criminal Law.
Profit or ideological imposition
The fundamental distinction between the two types of groups lies in their ultimate goal.
In the context of terrorism, the main objective is the imposition of an ideology, whether for religious, ethnic or political reasons, through terror.
The profit raised by terrorist groups is, as a rule, used to finance terrorist activities and attacks, with the focus being on the criminal act itself as the purpose.
In organized crime, the objective is profit through illicit activity, such as trafficking in drugs, weapons or people. The focus is on capital accumulation and money laundering to insert money into the legal market, following a business logic.
Obtaining an advantage of any nature is what legally characterizes a criminal organization in Brazil, according to Law 12,850 of 2013.
Motivations for the use of violence
Violence is treated differently by both types of groups.
For terrorist groups, violence is primarily an instrument of communicating their agenda, aiming to make an impact and obtain repercussions for their cause. Terrorism uses violence as a demonstration of power and imposition of ideology.
Colonel José Vicente, former National Secretary of Public Security, emphasizes that the terrorist organization “produces attacks to alarm the population” and draw attention to its cause, without the intention of continuous financial gains.
In organized crime, violence is an instrument to ensure the exploitation of illicit profit and maintain the stability of the parallel economy.
Although mafias and factions also use violence as a demonstration of power, it is generally linked to the elimination of opponents, such as rival factions or public agents who hinder their plans.
Preferred victims and nature of the acts
The choice of targets also reveals crucial differences in performance. Terrorism targets symbolic targets or innocent civilians, seeking collective fear.
The terrorist group usually targets the civilian population or people with a certain ethnic, social, religious or political characteristic.
In organized crime, violence, although it affects the general population, is generally directed at people who are direct victims, rival factions or public agents. The civilian population, in this case, is most often collateral victims.
Political science professor Coronel Fernandes observes that past actions by factions, such as the PCC attacks in 2006, aimed to target the State on a political basis, using terrorist tactics.
However, Brazilian legislation requires that the terrorist act be committed for “reasons of xenophobia, discrimination or prejudice based on race, color, ethnicity and religion” for its legal classification, according to Law 13,260/2016.
Regarding the nature of the acts, experts are unanimous in distinguishing the groups, which are composed as follows:
– Terrorism: The acts are episodic and of great visibility and impact, aimed at social or generalized terror. The mobilization of control structures is only temporary.
– Organized crime: The acts are repetitive and structured, focused on maintaining an illicit economic system. The mobilization of control structures is permanent and there is an interest in dominating and remaining in territories.
Structure and doctrine
Both groups rely on a structure, but operational doctrine and internal focus differ.
In general, both terrorism and mafias and factions require an organized structure, with hierarchy and internal discipline, often pyramidal. Brazilian legislation defines a criminal organization as an “association of 4 or more people structurally ordered and characterized by the division of tasks”.
In terms of doctrine, terrorist groups focus on ideological acts, and in general, they do not even enjoy luxurious goods. Sometimes, they show greater leniency with crimes against children or sexual crimes committed against the civilian population.
In contrast, Brazilian criminal factions, such as the PCC and CV, are not classified as terrorists by law, as their activities do not involve hate or religious crimes, but rather the obtaining of profit through arms and drug trafficking.
They seek to launder money to purchase luxury items and goods in general, and seek extensive influence in prisons and urban crimes, in addition to growing connections with international mafias.
Filipe Papaiordanou, criminal lawyer and professor, summarizes the complexity by stating that “every terrorist group is in itself a criminal organization, but not every criminal organization has a basis or activities considered to be terrorist”.
The legal distinction is crucial. Although experts recognize that criminal factions “perform acts of terror”, changing the classification legally could have negative impacts on Brazil, including international sanctions, problems in the banking system and even the possibility of foreign military interventions, as warned by Rafael Alcadipani, specialist at the Brazilian Public Security Forum (FBSP).
