Organizations were born within the prison system, expanded their operations across the country and today compete for trafficking routes, strategic territories and influence in prisons in different states
The recent decision by the United States of foreigners once again put the two largest criminal factions in Brazil in the spotlight. Despite having similar origins, Both were born within the prison system, PCC and CV have very different structures, strategies and forms of action.
Comando Vermelho emerged in the 1970s, in the Rio de Janeiro penitentiary system, especially in the Ilha Grande prison. Over the years, it has consolidated its presence in favelas and communities in Rio, exercising strong territorial control and maintaining frequent clashes with security forces.
The First Command of the Capital was created in 1993, in the Taubaté Penitentiary, known as “Piranhão”in the interior of São Paulo. The faction was born during a football match between inmates and its initial speech was the protection of prisoners against abuse in the prison system, especially after the Carandiru Massacre, which occurred in 1992, when 111 inmates were killed during a police action at the São Paulo Detention House.
As the years passed, the PCC expanded its influence throughout São Paulo’s prisons and later began to operate in international trafficking of drugs, establishing strategic routes mainly through the borders with Paraguay and Bolivia. In São Paulo, the faction built a criminal hegemony that continues to this day.
One of the main leaders of the PCC is Marco Willians Herbas Camacho, known as Marcolacurrently imprisoned in the federal penitentiary system. Under his influence, the faction expanded its internal organization and was responsible for some of the most notable episodes in Brazilian public security.
In 2001, the PCC coordinated the so-called “mega rebellion”, simultaneously mobilizing dozens of prison units in São Paulo, with shocking scenes such as people’s heads hanging and exposed in Penitentiary I of Presidente Venceslau, in the west of the state of São Paulo. Five years later, in 2006, the faction carried out a series of attacks against public agents, police officers and state facilities, causing one of the biggest security crises in the history of São Paulo.
Experts point out that One of the main differences between PCC and Comando Vermelho is the way they exercise power. CV maintains a strong territorial presence in communities and favelasusing this domain as an instrument to control trafficking and resist the entry of security forces.
The PCC, on the other hand, operates in a more discreet and business-like manner. Its structure does not necessarily depend on direct control of urban territories to maintain its operations. The organization prioritizes the logistical coordination of trafficking, the management of international routes and influence within the prison system.
This difference makes the Red Command often demonstrates its strength through the overt occupation of dominated areas, while the PCC tends to operate in a more covert manner, concentrating efforts on articulating criminal networks and controlling illicit businesses.
For many years, PCC and CV coexisted in a relative alliance. However, the partnership was broken in 2010, intensifying a dispute that spread across several Brazilian states. The conflict began to involve control of prisons, logistical corridors and, mainly, international drug trafficking routes.
Currently, the activities of the two factions go beyond the limits of their states of origin. If before the PCC had a predominant presence in São Paulo and the Red Command concentrated its activities in Rio de Janeiro, today both have expanded their criminal networks to different regions of the country, with emphasis on the Legal Amazon and border areas, where violent disputes over control of drug trafficking occur.
Factions timeline
1970 – Emergence of the Red Command in the Rio de Janeiro prison system.
1992 – Carandiru massacre leaves 111 inmates dead in São Paulo.
1993 – Foundation of the First Command of the Capital (PCC).
2001 – PCC coordinates simultaneous mega rebellion in São Paulo prisons.
2006 – Faction promotes attacks against security forces and public bodies in São Paulo.
2010s – Breakup of the alliance between PCC and Comando Vermelho increases disputes over control of trafficking routes and prisons.
2026 – The United States announces the classification of the PCC and the Red Command as foreign terrorist organizations, increasing international pressure on the two factions.
Today, PCC and Comando Vermelho remain the most influential criminal organizations in Brazil, having a direct impact on drug trafficking, the penitentiary system and public security in several regions of the country.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
