Brazil has expressed deep concern over the “risk of the United States resorting to military force” on Brazilian soil. The alarm follows Washington’s decision to classify two of Brazil’s major criminal organizations as terrorist groups.
“This unilateral classification could be invoked to justify extraterritorial actions against Brazilian institutions,” warned Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in a letter addressed to the Brazilian Parliament, which was obtained by the France-Presse news agency.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has strongly opposed the designation. According to Washington, the classification authorizes various forms of American intervention against the leaders of these groups anywhere in the world.
In May, the US administration claimed that the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV) maintain “illicit networks” extending “far beyond Brazil’s borders,” subsequently declaring both groups as terrorist entities. These organizations are primarily engaged in drug trafficking and control various other illegal revenue streams inside Brazil’s favelas and working-class neighborhoods.
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Since returning to the White House in 2025, US President Donald Trump has steadily designated multiple foreign criminal organizations as terrorist groups, including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.
Washington has already launched strikes against Tren de Aragua targets in Venezuela and has conducted lethal operations against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans, frequently drawing scrutiny for acting without presenting public evidence.
Domestically, Brazil’s right-wing opposition welcomed Washington’s decision. They have used the designation to accuse the Lula administration of taking a lax approach to public safety ahead of Brazil’s upcoming presidential election in October.
The security friction arrives amid a separate, escalating dispute over customs tariffs between the two nations. The Trump administration faces a July 15 deadline to decide whether to impose a 25% surcharge on several Brazilian products. The potential trade penalties follow a US investigation into allegedly unfair trade practices, accusations that the Brazilian government firmly rejects.
