Security & Strategic Review - July 2026

Since 5 June Brazil’s two most powerful criminal groups, the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), have been included on the US government’s list of foreign terrorist organisations (FTOs). The designation put serious strain on relations between the administrations of Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and US President Donald Trump, given that the Lula government has framed the designations as a threat to Brazilian sovereignty, while Brazil’s far-right ‘Bolsonarismo’ movement has welcomed the move as a key step in the fight against organised crime.