Trump Administration Labels Brazil’s Deadliest Gangs as Specially Designated Global Terrorists

Key Takeaways

• Marco Rubio designated CV and PCC as global terrorists, with FTO status scheduled to begin on June 5.
• Impacting the crypto market, the PCC used bitcoin mining to launder funds across Brazil.
• Lobbied by Flavio Bolsonaro, the US will next enforce strict FTO rules against the 2 Brazilian gangs.

Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) Designated As Terrorist Groups

The government of the United States, under the Trump Administration, is taking the designation of criminal organizations as terrorists to a new level, entering them into this class due to their drug trafficking activities.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the designation of two of the largest Brazilian criminal groups, Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), and revealed his intention to designate them also as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) from June 5.

According to Rubio, these two groups “command thousands of members and have orchestrated brutal attacks against Brazilian police officers, public officials, and civilians,” and have expanded their activities beyond Brazil’s borders. The move comes after Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, President Lula’s opponent in the upcoming elections, lobbied for this measure.

These two groups have been singled out as using cryptocurrency for money laundering purposes and as an extension of their primary activities, adding a crypto element to this move. Data acquired by local media via public requests puts these organizations as two of the largest crypto money launderers in the country, with the federal Police even targeting a group linked to both the PCC and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.

Reports indicate that PCC has been conducting bitcoin mining operations as a money-laundering facade since 2024, when the São Paulo police uncovered a link between the Jacatorta mining company and the organization through Anselmo Santa Fausta, known as Cara Preta, a high-level PCC operative.

Recently, another mining operation in the hands of the PCC was discovered during Operation Contenção in Rio de Janeiro, where dozens of ASICs were seized.

The United States Department of State has also designated gangs like the Tren of Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, which have also been linked to digital assets money laundering and global drug trafficking activities, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).