The United States plans to officially classify Brazil’s two largest and most powerful criminal syndicates as terrorist organizations. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Department of State has immediately labeled the groups as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” with a formal “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (FTO) designation set to take effect on June 5, 2026.
The move targets the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV). Longtime rivals for lucrative drug trafficking routes, both organizations dominate Brazil’s black market and prison systems while expanding their criminal networks deep into Latin America and the United States. Rubio described them as two of the most violent entities in Brazil, responsible for orchestrating brutal attacks against public officials, law enforcement, and civilians.
A Political Win for Brazil’s Opposition
The policy pivot follows an aggressive push from Brazil’s political right wing. Earlier in the week, Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro—who is gearing up for a presidential run with the backing of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro—met directly with President Trump and Secretary Rubio in Washington to request the terrorist labels.
Political analysts note that the Bolsonaro camp intends to leverage this high-profile U.S. alignment to push public safety and organized crime to the forefront of Brazil’s upcoming presidential election in October.
Diplomatic Pushback from the Lula Administration
The announcement has been met with quiet concern by the current administration of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Historically, Brazil has strongly resisted having domestic criminal groups designated as foreign terrorists by outside nations.
The administration fears the label could yield severe diplomatic and economic side effects, such as:
- Banking Sanctions: Financial institutions could face heavy U.S. penalties if they inadvertently process transactions tied to gang members.
- Foreign Intervention: The FTO status legally clears a path for the U.S. government to take more aggressive, unilateral actions, potentially opening the door to American military or intelligence operations on Brazilian soil.
While Celso Amorim, Lula’s top foreign policy adviser, responded cautiously to the decision, the Trump administration has made it clear that it intends to aggressively deploy these new legal tools to starve the syndicates of their revenue and block illicit drugs from reaching American streets.