The United States Department of State classified this Thursday (28) the Red Command (CV) and the First Capital Command (PCC) as Specially Designated Global Terrorists and announced that it intends to include them in the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations from June 5th.
The Lula government tried to block these designations, worried that they would open space for possible US military action in Brazilian territory or for sanctions against banks that, without even knowing it, maintain relationships with members of the factions.
The measure follows previous designations by Trump, who had already classified several criminal groups in Mexico and other countries as terrorist organizations.
In the statement, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the American government describes CV and PCC as “two of the most violent criminal organizations in Brazil”, with a history of attacks against police officers, authorities and civilians. According to Washington, the network of factions already goes beyond Brazilian borders, reaching neighboring countries and the USA itself.
According to the statement, with the new classification, the US can:
- freeze assets linked to factions that pass through the American financial system;
- prohibit US citizens and companies from providing any type of financial or logistical support;
- strengthen cooperation with other governments in investigations and enforcement actions.
The State Department framed the measure within the Trump administration’s strategy of treating large Latin American factions as “narco-terrorists”, expanding the use of sanctions and instruments to combat trafficking and organized crime in the region.
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Political repercussion
The measure follows previous designations by Trump, who had already classified several criminal groups in Mexico and other countries as terrorist organizations. Lula visited the White House earlier this month, in an attempt to stop what Brazil sees as a counterproductive initiative, which would pose risks to both the country’s financial system and its sovereignty.
The Brazilian president tried instead to convince Trump to deepen U.S. cooperation with his administration’s efforts to combat groups like the PCC by targeting money laundering operations and smuggling networks.
The left-wing leader also sees the designation as a step that could pave the way for the US to justify military action in Brazilian territory, especially in a context of serial air attacks against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean — an operation that overthrew Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro — and the expansion of the US Armed Forces’ operations in the region.
The decision is expected to have political repercussions in Brazil on the eve of the October election, in which Lula faces a difficult dispute with Flavio Bolsonaro, eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of Trump.
With the issue of urban violence at the center of voters’ concerns, the younger Bolsonaro has promised an “iron fist” approach to public security. This week, he had a brief meeting with Trump at the White House and said he had pressured the American leader to apply the designation to the factions.
The US measure is also expected to generate uncertainty in the Brazilian financial system and economy, as banks and companies try to understand the implications.
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Last year, the US targeted three Mexican banks on suspicion of laundering proceeds from drug trafficking, in effect cutting off their access to the US financial system.
In recent years, Brazilian authorities claim to have found evidence that the PCC is laundering money through fintechs. Last year, the Federal Police carried out the largest operation against organized crime in the country’s history, dismantling a laundering scheme estimated at almost US$10 billion.
Relations between Trump and Lula soured last year, when the American president imposed heavy tariffs on Brazil in a failed attempt to prevent the trial of Jair Bolsonaro for an attempted coup. The two returned to understanding after an impromptu meeting at the UN in September, and Trump left the most recent meeting describing Lula as a “dynamic” leader.
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(Com Bloomberg)
