SAO PAULO (AP) — The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that it will designate Brazil’s two biggest criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations early next month, a move the South American nation’s government has said it will interpret as undue interference in its politics.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the First Command of the Capital, or PCC, and the Red Command, or CV, will be considered foreign terrorist organizations as of June 5. Until then, they will be named as specially designated global terrorists, which hampers their ability to make financial transactions as they are regarded as a threat to U.S. citizens.Rubio’s announcement comes 24 hours after a visit by Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a presidential hopeful and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who has advocated for the move. The senator’s bid to face President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in October’s election is at risk after he admitted receiving money from a disgraced banker.
Lula, who the Bolsonaros accuse of not fighting organized crime, has repeatedly said he would interpret a designation of the two criminal groups as terrorist organizations as interference to favor his electoral rival. He has yet to comment on Thursday’s announcement.The PCC and the CV likely have more than 50,000 members combined, according to experts, who also say most of their connections are in Europe rather than in North America. Most of PCC’s operations are centered in metropolis Sao Paulo, while the CV is based in Rio de Janeiro. They have reach throughout South America.Latin America strategyDesignating criminal cartels in Latin America as foreign terrorist organizations is a strategy the Trump’s administration has used as it turns to military activity and other steps to combat drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, notably carrying out a campaign of deadly boat strikes against those it calls “narcoterrorists” in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.“CV and PCC are two of the most violent criminal organizations in Brazil. Together, they command thousands of members and have orchestrated brutal attacks against Brazilian police officers, public officials, and civilians,” Rubio said. “Their influence and illicit networks extend far beyond Brazil’s borders, across our region and into our country.”“Today’s action taken by the State Department further demonstrates the Trump Administration’s unwavering commitment to dismantling cartels and criminal organizations in our region and ensuring the safety of the American people,” he added.Sen. Bolsonaro, who briefly met Trump before his longer conversation with Rubio on Wednesday, said his visit to the Washington this week had produced more results for Brazil’s public security than in Lula’s three administrations. The incumbent president also governed in two terms between 2003-2010.
