How the Lula government lost the battle that made the US declare CV and PCC terrorists

How the Lula government lost the battle that made the US declare CV and PCC as terrorists
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The designation of Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) as international terrorist entities by the US State Department, this Thursday (28/5) marked the biggest defeat for the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in its relationship with the government of President Donald Trump since the imposition of the tariff, in 2025.
It was a battle that took more than a year, with back and forth from side to side and which, at this moment, appears to have been won by the political group now led by senator and pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).
The Brazilian government was against the measure. The main argument was that it could put national sovereignty at risk by opening space for US military actions under the pretext of combating terrorism.
The government also claimed that the measure would go against Brazilian legislation that makes a distinction between the activities carried out by criminal factions and terrorism.
On the other side, the group led by Flávio Bolsonaro had been publicly defending the measure for more than a year, pointing out the Lula government's opposing position to the designation as an alleged demonstration of collusion by the PT administration with organized crime.
The decision, in fact, came one day after Flávio Bolsonaro had closed a trip to Washington, where he met with President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
The Brazilian government had never considered the issue completely overcome within the Trump administration given what Lula's advisors classify as the US president's unpredictability.
Despite this, BBC News Brasil found that the US decision Trump government declares PCC and CV as terrorist organizations: what could happen now? During his visit to the United States, Flávio said he had defended, to Trump's entire team, that the country take action against Brazilian criminal organizations.
Before Flávio's trip, President Lula's interlocutors stated, in a reserved manner, that the government would interpret an announcement from the Trump administration considered negative as a possible interference in Brazil's electoral process and that the government would respond as an example of what happened during the tariffication in 2025.
Trump government declares PCC and CV as terrorist organizations: what can happen now?
Brazilian law makes a distinction between common crime and terrorism
AFP via Getty Images
Brazilian response
BBC News Brasil found that the Brazilian government intends to modulate the response to the measure adopted by the USA to avoid further strain on the domestic public just a few months before the elections.
The government's official response should only come out from tomorrow, after internal meetings.
The meetings will include members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Presidency and there is a possibility that other departments will be part of the debate, such as Finance.
In response, the government should defend recently adopted measures against organized crime and state that the country would be open to international cooperation in the fight against factions.
A member of the government interviewed by BBC News Brasil in a reserved capacity stated that the government recognizes that the US decision was the result of the action of the Bolsonaro wing with access to the North American government.
The interpretation is that the Bolsonaro wing had acted to create an embarrassment to the government, leading the PT administration to speak out against the measure and then be criticized for allegedly defending criminal factions.
He also said that one of the aspects that would be most worrying the government is the possible impacts of the measure on the Brazilian financial system. The government fears that Brazilian companies or banks could be sanctioned due to possible commercial ties, even if involuntary, with these factions.
BBC News Brasil sought out the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) and the Palácio do Planalto, but has not received a response so far.
Flávio Bolsonaro defended the designation of the PCC and the CV as terrorist organizations in the meeting with Trump
Reproduction/Instagram/@flaviobolsonaro
What is known about the designation of CV and PCC as terrorist organizations by the US
Chronology of the defeat
The idea of adopting sanctions against Brazilian criminal organizations such as the PCC and CV as terrorist entities had been studied by the US government for several years.
In 2021, for example, the Treasury Secretariat included the PCC as a designated entity, a classification that allows sanctions to be imposed on its members or companies that did business with the faction.
But the plan to designate PCC and CV as terrorist entities gained strength, in fact, after the beginning of Donald Trump's second term, in 2025.
The plan was being discussed internally by the State Department's technical area, with the assistance of officials from the United States Embassy in Brasilia.
Between the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, the State Department sent advisors to Brazil who met with Brazilian prosecutors specialized in combating organized crime to obtain more information about the subject.
May 2025
In May 2025, for example, the US government sent the then interim head of the State Department's sanctions strategy to Brazil, David Gamble, and advisor Ricardo Pitta.
Pitta even met with the Bolsonaro family and, according to Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, at that time, the family defended the designation of the PCC and the CV as terrorist organizations.
The movement was monitored by the Brazilian government which, even at that time, saw this possibility as a possible North American interference in Brazilian policy to combat organized crime.
July 2025
In July 2025, when Trump imposed tariffs on Brazilian products, the expectation in Brazilian diplomacy was that the measure on Brazilian factions could be adopted at that time, which ended up not happening.
The Lula government, in turn, tried to dismantle the pro-designation speech by adopting a speech that the classification of factions as terrorist organizations would not be effective in combating organized crime.
In September 2025, for example, Lula criticized the possible measure in his speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN). Using lethal force in situations that do not constitute armed conflicts is equivalent to executing people without trial", said Lula in a reference to attacks that were being carried out by the United States on vessels off the coast of Latin American countries such as Venezuela and Colombia. UOL revealed that the North American government was about to adopt the measure.
The news caused the Brazilian government to mount a kind of "emergency operation" to prevent the adoption of the measure.
That same day, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, spoke by telephone with Marco Rubio about the matter.
Two days later, on March 10, a State Department spokesperson released a note reiterating that the North American government considered the two factions to be threats to the country.
"The United States considers Brazil's criminal organizations - including the PCC and the CV - as significant threats to regional security, due to their involvement in drug trafficking, violence and transnational crime", said the text.
Lula then began to defend, in an even more blatant way, that the United States cooperate with Brazil in combating organized crime as an alternative to the designation.
At the same time, the governments of the two countries discussed proposals for cooperation in this area.
In the country. On March 13, the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper revealed that the US had sent a plan to Brazil in which they asked the country to adopt measures to extinguish the PCC and the CV.
In the weeks that followed, the efforts of Brazilian diplomacy seemed to have had an effect and the designation did not come.
May 2026
The matter, however, resurfaced this week during Flávio Bolsonaro's visit to Washington.
He met with President Trump, his vice, J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio.
In the meetings, Flávio said, he defended the designation of the PCC and the CV as terrorist organizations.
"We hit again on the same note that the United States should classify, yes, CV and PCC as terrorist organizations. We said that, God willing, from 2027 onwards, Brazil will be an ally in the fight against organized crime, unlike the current government, which seems to protect these criminals", said Flávio after the meeting with Marco Rubio, on Wednesday. with a visit that took place less than a month ago, the PT administration was convinced that several sectors of the North American government have a clear preference for Flávio Bolsonaro's candidacy over Lula's.
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Source: G1