The U.S. decision to designate Brazil’s two most powerful criminal factions as foreign terrorist organizations has quickly become ammunition in one of the country’s most polarized state races.
Washington announced on May 28 that Primeiro Comando da Capital, known as PCC, and Comando Vermelho, or CV, will be listed as Foreign Terrorist Organizations from June 5. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the groups are among Brazil’s most violent criminal organizations and accused them of orchestrating attacks against police, officials and civilians, with illicit networks that reach beyond Brazil.
In Paraná, a southern state where former judge Sergio Moro is running for governor, the move reignited old battles from Brazil’s Lava Jato era. Moro, now a senator for Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party, tried to present the U.S. designation as a public-security victory and credited Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president’s son and a presidential hopeful, for helping secure it in Washington.
Speaking at his campaign launch alongside Flávio Bolsonaro, Moro asked supporters whether anyone was “sad” about PCC and CV being placed on the U.S. terrorism list. He then accused President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the Workers’ Party, known as PT, of defending criminals. The next day, Moro wrote on X that his political project would “block the PT’s ambitions” in Paraná.
Gleisi Hoffmann, a PT lawmaker, former Lula minister and Senate candidate in Paraná, answered with attacks on Moro and the Bolsonaro family. At a left-wing event in Curitiba that launched her Senate bid and Requião Filho’s run for governor, she called Moro a “thieving judge” — a reference to PT criticism of his conduct in Lava Jato, parts of which were later annulled by Brazil’s Supreme Court. Moro was the judge who led the corruption probe before joining Bolsonaro’s cabinet as justice minister in 2019.
Hoffmann also accused the Bolsonaro family of celebrating U.S. interference in Brazil. She argued that the designation threatens Brazilian sovereignty and said the right was using public security rhetoric while aligning itself with foreign pressure. Lula’s government has resisted the classification, saying PCC and CV are violent criminal groups but not ideological terrorist movements.
The dispute reflects a broader national split. Bolsonaro allies see Trump’s decision as validation of a harder line on organized crime and a way to pressure Lula on security. Lula’s camp argues that the measure could expose Brazilian institutions and companies to U.S. sanctions, complicate intelligence cooperation and create openings for Washington to act unilaterally in Brazil.
Agência Brasil reported that Brazilian officials had spent months trying to avoid the designation because of fears it could justify severe financial sanctions or even raise questions about military action. Specialists cited by the public news agency said the move could alter how sensitive security information is shared between the two countries, potentially routing it through U.S. intelligence or military channels.
International coverage has also emphasized the political timing. BBC Brasil reported that The New York Times described the U.S. move as coming after “aggressive lobbying” by Bolsonaro’s sons. The Financial Times said Washington had considered the step for at least a year, but that its timing would benefit Flávio Bolsonaro, who met Trump and Rubio days before the announcement.
In Paraná, the same polarization is shaping early campaign lines. O Globo reported that Moro leads April Genial/Quaest polling for governor, with 35% to 42% in tested scenarios. Requião Filho, backed by the PT, had 18% to 24%, while Sandro Alex, the candidate linked to Governor Ratinho Junior’s camp, had 5% to 6%.
For the Senate race, the same poll showed former senator Alvaro Dias numerically ahead with 16%, followed by Deltan Dallagnol at 13%, Filipe Barros and Gleisi at 10%, and Alexandre Curi also at 10%.
What began as a U.S. countercrime measure has therefore become a domestic campaign test: whether Brazilian voters treat the designation as a useful weapon against organized crime or as an unwelcome breach of national sovereignty.