The Trump administration is considering designating Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), as terrorist groups, a move that could trigger sweeping financial sanctions against Latin America's largest economy and disrupt its globally admired banking system.
The proposal, which has sparked alarm among Brazilian officials and economists, would give Washington the legal authority to sanction Brazilian banks, payment systems, and businesses deemed to have connections—however indirect—to the designated organizations. The classification is particularly concerning because both PCC and CV have deep penetration into Brazilian society, including through extortion networks in favelas, control of informal economies, and corruption of public officials.
"This is not like designating a foreign terrorist group operating in a failed state," said Mateus Rodrigues, a financial crimes expert at the São Paulo Institute of Economic Research. "These organizations touch virtually every layer of Brazilian society. The economic consequences could be catastrophic—our PIX instant payment system, our international banking relationships, our trade finance could all be compromised."
In Brazil, as across Latin America's giant, continental scale creates both opportunity and governance challenges. The PCC, founded in São Paulo prisons in 1993, now operates across all 26 Brazilian states and has international reach into neighboring countries. CV, based in Rio de Janeiro, has similarly expanded beyond its original territorial base. Unlike traditional terrorist organizations with political or ideological goals, these groups are criminal enterprises focused on drug trafficking, money laundering, and territorial control.
Brazilian journalist Guga Chacra drew parallels to Lebanon's economic decline following Hezbollah's terrorist designation. "Lebanon was once called the 'Switzerland of the Middle East' with a sophisticated banking sector," he noted in comments widely circulated on Brazilian social media.
