The possibility of the US government classifying the PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital) and the CV (Comando Vermelho) as terrorist organizations has once again gained prominence on the eve of a possible visit by President Lula to Washington.
According to information obtained by the correspondent of CNN Brazil in Washington, Mariana Janjácomo, the American State Department sees these factions as a “regional threat”, but does not officially confirm the intention to designate them as terrorist groups.
A. Since last year, speculation about this classification has been circulating in moments of tension between the two countries.
The American government already adopts this strategy with other groups linked to drug trafficking in Latin America, which gives the US additional tools for action, such as blocking financial resources, preventing the entry of people linked to these organizations and the possibility of joint military operations with local forces.
Divergence between federal and state governments
In May, an American delegation led by David Gamble, head of State Department sanctions coordination, and Ricardo Pita, senior advisor at the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs, was in Brazil to discuss the issue with federal and state authorities. While , the Brazilian federal government opposes the classification.
Recently, a homeland security committee in the United States House of Representatives resumed the discussion. The issue gained strength among Republicans, who are pushing for the designation of Brazilian factions as terrorist groups.
Technical differences and practical consequences
Experts point out technical problems in classifying criminal organizations with economic purposes as terrorist groups.
Brazilian anti-terrorism legislation defines terrorists as entities that act for ideological, political or racist motivations, not for economic interests, as is the case with the PCC and Comando Vermelho.
One of the main risks of this classification would be compromising the flow of intelligence. While police officers and prosecutors are trained to infiltrate drug trafficking networks, the Armed Forces do not have this specialty and are trained to defend the country from external threats.
The entry of the military into the fight against these organizations could contaminate entire corporations, since the military operates with a strong esprit de corps, unlike police officers who act in a more individualized manner.
Another problem would be the application of military doctrine in vulnerable communities, where the risk of death of innocent civilians would increase considerably. Military personnel are trained to “kill the enemy and destroy the target”, an approach inappropriate for densely populated areas where criminals and civilians coexist in confined spaces.
“Not every very serious situation is a terrorism situation”, warn analysts.
According to them, treating organized crime as terrorism can harm the effective fight against these organizations, as it ignores their specificities and requires different strategies than those applied against traditional terrorist groups.
