The Brazilian government does not see ways to reverse in a short period of time the US State Department’s classification of the criminal factions Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) as terrorist organizations.
The understanding is that there is no argument to be presented to the Americans that would make them retreat from the measures. Even so, the order is to insist on the discourse that the Brazilian government fights organized crime and that it is willing to cooperate with other countries.
The American government took two measures with the aim of expanding the siege on the PCC and the CV. It determined the classification as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT), already in force, and as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), which should be implemented on Friday.
The latter is broader and makes it a crime, according to the US government, “for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide material support or resources to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a terrorist organization.”
With the classifications in place, the American government will be able to adopt financial and operational measures against the factions, restrict the migration of members and those considered associates, in addition to expanding the use of intelligence from the United States Department of Defense to possible combat the factions.
There is a fear that Brazilian financial institutions could be prevented from operating in the American market if information emerges that they have somehow moved money from people linked to these factions.
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The Brazilian government is also waiting to find out whether there will be a change in police cooperation with American authorities. This is because once factions are classified as terrorist organizations, investigations into them become a matter of national security. And countries do not share national security information with other nations.
The announcement of the classification of factions took place last week, two days after the visit of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) to President Donald Trump. The pre-candidate for president celebrated the decision.
Planalto called it ‘deplorable’
Lula, in turn, complained last week about the classification and returned to the theme of defending national sovereignty.
— Comando Vermelho and PCC are terrorists for Brazilian communities, for society, for the people on the outskirts of this country. They bother families, neighborhoods and cities. So they are terrorists and we are going to fight them in here.
In a statement at the time, Palácio do Planalto said that it rejects any “interference” and that sovereignty is “non-negotiable”. The text brought attacks on the Bolsonaro family.
“”The security of our population is too important to be politically manipulated by traitors who try to confuse these concepts. By false patriots, involved with organized crime, who ask foreign authorities to interfere in Brazilian affairs”, says the Planalto note, completing. “It is deplorable that once again members of the Bolsonaro family travel to the United States to defend foreign intervention in Brazil, as they already did in the tariff, which caused so much damage to our country
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