RIO DE JANEIRO – A controversial decision by the Trump administration to label two major Brazilian criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations is being framed as a politically motivated move to boost the electoral prospects of a pro-Trump Brazilian candidate ahead of the country’s tightly contested October presidential election, according to regional politicians and policy analysts.
The two groups in question — First Capital Command, better known by its Brazilian acronym PCC, and Red Command, or CV — are now among 10 Latin American criminal groups that hold the U.S. foreign terrorist organization designation. What sets this designation apart, however, is that unlike the eight other groups that earned this label, neither PCC nor CV operate within U.S. territory. The vast majority of cocaine trafficking activity linked to the two gangs is destined for European markets, with drug supply routes to the U.S. overwhelmingly running through Colombia, Mexico and Central America instead of Brazil, experts note.
The designation came just one week after Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and a leading opposition candidate challenging incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, traveled to Washington to meet with Trump administration officials. Flávio Bolsonaro confirmed he personally requested the U.S. extend terrorist designation status to the two Rio-based gangs.
For Flávio Bolsonaro, the U.S. decision works to shore up his widely marketed hardline reputation on crime and public security, a key policy area where he has repeatedly hammered Lula’s administration for perceived weak governance. Analysts across the political spectrum agree the timing and framing of the designation is no coincidence.
“The main driver of this decision was politics: it is intended to pressure Lula and lift Flávio’s standing ahead of the October vote,” explained Brian Winter, a leading Latin America expert and editor of *Americas Quarterly*, published by the New York-based Council of the Americas. That assessment is echoed by Carolina Grillo, a sociology professor at Rio de Janeiro’s Fluminense Federal University and a leading scholar on Brazilian organized crime, who says the move is a clear attempt to sway the outcome of Brazil’s national election.
Grillo added that beyond the political calculations, the designation lacks policy logic: “The supply routes for cocaine entering the United States pass through Colombia, Mexico and Central American countries — not through Brazil. More than 90% of the cocaine seized in Brazil is destined for European countries.”
Lula has forcefully pushed back against the U.S. decision, framing it as unacceptable external interference in Brazil’s sovereign affairs. He pointed to ongoing law enforcement actions, including recent high-profile arrests and a sweeping ongoing investigation into PCC, as proof Brazil is capable of addressing its own domestic security challenges.
“I am very sad today, after the news that (U.S. officials) said that our criminals here are terrorists and that the Americans can intervene,” Lula told reporters on Friday. “We will not accept being treated like children. We will not accept being treated as if we were a banana republic.”
This is not the first time a Trump administration policy toward Brazil has boosted Lula’s political standing: Lula’s national popularity surged after Trump implemented a 50% tariff hike on Brazilian exports, which the incumbent framed as an attack on Brazilian national sovereignty. But political analysts say the current situation is far more complicated.
Creomar de Souza, an analyst with Brasilia-based political risk consultancy Dharma, notes that it will not be as straightforward for Lula to frame this decision as a clear attack on Brazilian sovereignty, in large part because Flávio Bolsonaro has already embraced the designation as a political win. “First of all, there’s Flávio’s propaganda. He will be able to hit hard against Lula’s Achilles heel, public security,” de Souza explained. “And this also depends on how the administration explains this to the public. It is not as simple as antagonizing Trump on tariffs.”
The move aligns with a broader pattern of open support from Trump for right-wing, pro-Trump candidates across Latin America, including José Antonio Kast in Chile, Javier Milei in Argentina and Daniel Noboa in Ecuador. Like his father, Flávio Bolsonaro has campaigned on a promise to shift Brazil’s trade alignment away from China and toward the U.S. under a second Trump administration.
Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Sao Paulo’s Insper university, noted that the designation advances long-held U.S. economic goals in the region. “The Trump administration dreamed of having a candidate here to give them leverage in the economy front,” Melo said.
AP correspondent Mauricio Savarese contributed reporting from Sao Paulo.