President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Friday, September 18, that he rejects the US government's designation of the PCC and the Comando Vermelho (CV), Brazil's two largest criminal factions, as terrorist organizations. In his view, "terrorism was January 8", the 2023 riots in which supporters of Jair Bolsonaro stormed the seats of Brazil's three branches of government in Brasília. He spoke at a public security event in Rio de Janeiro, in the middle of his reelection campaign.
"We need to beat organized crime. And I do not accept the idea that criminal factions are terrorists, as Trump says. When Trump talks about terrorism, he is talking about state terrorism, not about a fight for power. Who was doing that? Bolsonaro trying to stage a coup on January 8. That is terrorism, planning to kill Lula, Alckmin and even Alexandre de Moraes. That is state terrorism," Lula said, according to news site G1.
The dispute with Washington
The listing of the two factions changes the White House approach by treating the fight against South American drug trafficking as a national security priority, according to G1. A Trump administration report released this week accuses Brazil of failing to contain the PCC and the CV and demands urgent measures. Brazil's Justice Ministry and the federal government rejected the charges, saying they run frequent operations to strip the gangs of their assets and maintain intelligence and cooperation agreements with US agencies. Under Brazilian law, the groups remain classified as criminal organizations.
"Criminals are terrorists for the people who live in the periferia, the poor urban outskirts. But I do not accept Trump's idea that criminal factions are terrorists," the president said, in remarks reported by InfoMoney. Bolsonaro, whom Lula named in his speech, is under house arrest for attempting a coup d'état.
Resources and borders
Lula tied the security debate to sovereignty over natural resources. "Trump is after critical minerals, oil and rare earths. No, this here is ours," he said, according to G1. He called for investment in the security forces and mentioned the Equatorial Margin, off the coast of Amapá state, where Petrobras has announced an oil discovery at the Morpho field. "How are we going to control 18,000 kilometers of border without investment?" he asked.
At the same event, Lula said he will create a Ministry of Public Security if reelected and promised to retake territory controlled by factions and militias. He also committed to converting 138 prisons into maximum-security facilities, according to InfoMoney. The standoff with Washington remains open: the US report demands urgent steps that the Brazilian government has publicly rejected, and a constitutional amendment expanding the federal role in public security is still awaiting a vote in Congress.