Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) asked President Donald Trump to classify Brazil's PCC and Comando Vermelho gangs as foreign terrorist organizations on Tuesday [1].
This request signals a potential shift in how the U.S. handles organized crime in South America and creates a diplomatic friction point with the current Brazilian administration. By seeking a terrorist designation, Bolsonaro aims to leverage U.S. security apparatuses to target these groups.
The meeting took place in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 26, 2026 [1], [2]. Bolsonaro specifically targeted the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and the Comando Vermelho (CV), two of the most powerful criminal organizations operating within Brazil [1], [3].
Under U.S. law, designating a group as a foreign terrorist organization allows the government to freeze assets, and prohibit material support to those entities. Bolsonaro said he discussed the classification of these groups during his encounter with the president [2].
Analyst Fernando Capez said the move is intended to create a positive security agenda while simultaneously countering the current Brazilian government [4]. The proposal suggests a strategy of internationalizing the fight against domestic crime to put pressure on national policies in Brazil.
While the U.S. frequently collaborates with Brazil on narcotics interdiction, a formal terrorist designation is a more severe legal step. Such a move would formally categorize the gangs not merely as criminal enterprises, but as threats to national security [1], [2].
“Senator Flávio Bolsonaro asked President Donald Trump to classify Brazil's PCC and Comando Vermelho gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.”
The request by Senator Bolsonaro reflects a strategy to use U.S. foreign policy tools to influence domestic Brazilian security. If the Trump administration adopts this classification, it would provide the U.S. Treasury and Justice Departments with expanded powers to sanction individuals and entities linked to the PCC and CV, potentially bypassing some traditional diplomatic channels between the two nations.
