US to designate two Brazilian gangs as ‘terrorist organizations’, says Marco Rubio

The United States will designate Brazilian criminal groups PCC and Comando Vermelho as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” from June 5, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday.

Brazil’s administration under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has sought to avoid such a designation, amid concerns that it could pave the way for potential US military action in Brazil or sanctions on banks that unknowingly conduct business with gang-linked entities.

Although the FTO designation is scheduled to take effect in June, the US State Department on Thursday classified the gangs as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists”, Rubio said in a statement.

Rubio described PCC and Comando Vermelho as two of Brazil’s “most violent criminal organizations”, saying their operations and influence extend across Latin America and into the United States.

“The Trump administration will continue to use all available tools to protect our nation and our national security interests by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding violent narco-terrorists,” Rubio said.