Washington is moving forward with plans to designate Brazil’s Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), a move that has triggered a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Brazil. The potential designation, which would carry significant legal and operational consequences, is awaiting final political approval, according to sources familiar with the U.S. Government’s deliberations.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira spoke by phone with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday to discuss the matter, sources within the Brazilian government told GloboNews. The conversation came as preparations continue for a visit by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to Washington, though no date has been set. The impending designation was the central focus of their discussion. Rubio is reportedly the principal driver of the measure, and the proposal could be sent to Congress for ratification in the coming days.
Brasília fears the implications extend beyond symbolism. An FTO designation would develop providing material support to the organizations a federal crime, authorize the freezing of assets, and open the door to unilateral military operations abroad. Brazilian officials have pointed to the situation in Venezuela, where Washington launched naval strikes in July 2025 after designating the Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization, and U.S. Forces captured Maduro in January 2026, as a potential precedent.
The Comando Vermelho originated in the 1970s at the Cândido Mendes prison on Ilha Grande island as an alliance between common prisoners and left-wing militants incarcerated during the military dictatorship (1964-1985). The organization later abandoned its ideological component and became the oldest criminal group in the country, based in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. The PCC emerged in São Paulo in August 1993, founded by eight prisoners at Taubaté prison in response to the Carandiru massacre, in which security forces killed more than one hundred inmates. What began as a prison protection pact transformed into an organization with up to 40,000 active members and a presence in at least sixteen countries.
Since January 2025, the Trump administration has designated 25 Latin American organizations as foreign terrorist groups, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and six Mexican cartels. Paraguay took the lead in October 2025 with a presidential decree declaring the PCC and CV terrorist organizations, authorizing the deployment of the Armed Forces to the border with Brazil. Rio de Janeiro Governor Cláudio Castro supported Washington’s initiative following the October 28 police operation against the Comando Vermelho, the deadliest in Brazilian history, with more than 120 deaths.
The Lula government argues that both organizations are motivated by profit, not political or ideological goals. Analysts have warned that the designation could lead to FBI arrests of operatives abroad and the freezing of assets held by shell companies. With presidential elections scheduled for 2026, the issue has also turn into a domestic political weapon, with Eduardo Bolsonaro serving as an active intermediary on the right.
Brazil has limited time to prevent a decision that, according to several sources, has already passed the technical stage and is awaiting only a signature. The move underscores the growing U.S. Focus on combating transnational criminal organizations in Latin America.
