The United States is urging Brazil to take a harder line against the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), Brazil's two largest criminal factions, after Washington moved to classify them as terrorist organizations.
According to single-source reporting from Revista Oeste, Amanda Roberson, the U.S. State Department's Portuguese-language spokesperson, said Brazil needs tougher action against both groups. She said U.S. authorities have identified activity linked to the factions in 12 American states, though the report does not list those states.
Why Washington Acted
The new legal classification was scheduled to take effect on Friday, June 5, 2026, according to Revista Oeste. The measure is part of President Donald Trump's broader security policy toward criminal organizations operating in the Western Hemisphere.
The PCC, founded in São Paulo's prison system in the 1990s, has become Brazil's most powerful criminal organization, with operations tied to drug trafficking, money laundering and prison control. Comando Vermelho, rooted in Rio de Janeiro's prison and favela networks, is one of the country's oldest major criminal factions.
Both groups have long operated beyond Brazil's borders through drug routes, weapons trafficking and financial networks. Washington's designation treats them not only as organized-crime groups but as national-security threats under U.S. law.
Legal Consequences
The designation allows U.S. authorities to freeze assets held by the groups in American financial institutions, cancel or deny visas, ease deportation procedures for suspects and ban commercial transactions connected to the organizations.
It also makes it a U.S. crime to provide material support to the designated groups, including financial, technological or logistical assistance. That tool is typically used in terrorism cases and gives prosecutors a wider legal basis to pursue people or companies accused of helping listed organizations.
Revista Oeste cited Roberson as pointing to a recent case in Massachusetts involving 18 Brazilian immigrants in irregular status who were accused of operating a fentanyl and firearms network under PCC orders. The report says the operation also had links to New York, New Jersey and Florida.
Brazil's Response
Brazil's federal government has reacted cautiously and defensively. The Planalto Palace, the seat of Brazil's executive branch, said national sovereignty is non-negotiable and rejected any form of foreign interference.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration also criticized political activity by members of the Bolsonaro family in the United States, arguing that domestic security policy should not be shaped by external pressure. Revista Oeste reported that Roberson rejected those concerns and said Washington's priority is U.S. national security.
The dispute does not appear to have ended security cooperation. According to the same report, Roberson said the United States maintains cooperation with Brazilian law-enforcement bodies and operates with nine intelligence agencies in Brazil in partnership with local authorities.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described Brazil as one of the exceptions among U.S. partners in the Americas, according to Revista Oeste. That suggests Washington is trying to separate operational cooperation from the political sensitivity around sovereignty.
For Brazil, the designation creates a diplomatic and legal test. The government must balance its resistance to perceived U.S. pressure with the reality that Brazilian criminal factions now operate across borders and increasingly affect the security agenda of other countries.