Lula rejects U.S. terrorist label for Brazil’s largest gangs

Brazil’s Lula Rejects US Terrorist Labels for PCC and CV Gangs

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday denounced the United States’ decision to designate two of Brazil’s largest criminal organizations as terrorist groups, calling it undue interference in the country’s internal affairs and warning Washington against treating Brazil “like a banana republic.”

“We will not accept being treated like children, we will not accept being treated as if we were a banana republic,” Lula said at a public event on Friday, referring to “a certain Marco Rubio, who said that our criminals are terrorists and that Americans can intervene”.reuters

The US Designation

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Thursday that Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV) would be classified as Specially Designated Global Terrorists immediately, with a further Foreign Terrorist Organization designation set to take effect on June 5. The FTO label carries stricter legal consequences, including criminal liability for anyone providing “material support” to either group under U.S. law.state

The move came after lobbying in Washington by the sons of imprisoned far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, according to Reuters. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who is preparing a presidential run, told reporters he had personally asked for the designation during a meeting with President Donald Trump earlier in the week. His brother Eduardo Bolsonaro told Reuters he wanted to “destroy the Comando Vermelho, the PCC, so that Brazilians don’t go out to buy bread at the bakery and end up taking a bullet to the head”.reuters

Brasília Pushes Back

Lula’s government described the policy as counterproductive and a threat to national sovereignty. Lula called the decision “disappointing” and accused Flávio Bolsonaro of “betraying our homeland and going to the U.S. to ask for intervention in Brazil”. He vowed to stay focused on Brazil’s own fight against the two gangs, which dominate much of the country’s drug trade and have expanded operations across Latin America.whbl

The designation has also raised concerns in Brazil’s business community. Law firms circulated warnings on Friday that the FTO label could increase scrutiny of financial institutions and companies in sectors such as agribusiness, energy, mining, and telecommunications, where indirect exposure to the gangs’ economic reach may be difficult to avoid. Analysts noted that recent examples in Mexico showed “how quickly the situation can escalate, with local banks cut off from the financial system”.whbl

Brazil’s Ibovespa ended Friday’s session down 0.7%, though the market reaction was described as muted. The designation places PCC and CV on a list alongside Al Qaeda, Islamic State, and Hezbollah.elpais