Lula Criticizes US Move to Label Brazilian Crime Groups as Terrorists

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has strongly criticized the United States for labeling two of the nation's criminal networks as terrorist organizations. In a statement posted to social media on Friday, Lula argued that applying this designation could significantly hinder local law enforcement capabilities. He warned that such a move would act as a major setback for efforts to combat crime within the country.

The controversy arose in response to an announcement made on Thursday by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio declared that Brazil's two largest criminal groups, the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and the Comando Vermelho (CV), were now classified as "specially designated global terrorists." The US government plans to formally add these groups to the list of "foreign terrorist organisations" effective June 5. While rumors of this action had circulated for months, officials in Lula's administration had previously urged the Trump administration to pause before finalizing the decision.

Lula drew a clear distinction between violent criminal enterprises and international terrorism in his message. He noted that the violence inflicted by these groups is driven by a desire for profit, specifically through the trafficking of drugs and arms. "The terror inflicted by these organisations upon communities seeks to generate profit through crime," he wrote. He emphasized that these activities must not be confused with the ideologically, politically, or religiously motivated actions that define international terrorism.

The consequences of the US designation are significant. Under current regulations, the label freezes all assets located in the United States connected to the targeted groups. Furthermore, it allows the US to penalize anyone who provides material support or resources to them. Experts caution that these restrictions could have unintended consequences, potentially impacting financial institutions and even victims of the criminal groups, such as businesses and individuals forced to pay extortion fees.

Lula expressed concern that the "terrorist" label might serve as a pretext for US military intervention. In his Friday statement, he did not explicitly name US President Donald Trump but reiterated his stance against foreign interference. "We remain fully prepared to develop joint solutions that yield mutual benefits for all nations involved," Lula stated. However, he added that Brazil would not tolerate arbitrary measures imposed from abroad that undermine its sovereignty or economy. He warned that unilateral, non-negotiated actions could undermine the fight against criminals and endanger the lives of innocent people with no connection to crime.

This diplomatic friction occurs as Lula campaigns for a fourth nonconsecutive term as Brazil's president. The upcoming election is expected to be tight, as Lula seeks to secure his position against opposition candidates. Lula previously served as president from 2003 to 2011 and was re-elected in 2022, defeating the right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting to overturn election results. Reports suggest that Bolsonaro's eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, played an instrumental role in influencing the US decision to issue the terrorist designations.

Senator Jair Bolsonaro, currently locked in a tight contest with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the 2026 presidential election, confirmed his intentions to seek "terrorist" designations for the Primeiro Comando da Capital and the Comando Vermelho during a visit to the White House this week. The move comes as the two candidates remain neck and neck in the polls, with a recent Datafolha survey on May 16 showing both securing 45 percent of voter support in a hypothetical one-on-one race, while 9 percent indicated they would cast a null vote and 1 percent remained undecided.

Bolsonaro's campaign relies on close ties to the Trump administration, a relationship that has seen the former U.S. president intervene in global elections on behalf of right-wing candidates. In response to Bolsonaro's trip, President Lula accused the senator of leveraging family connections to "petition foreign authorities" for favor. "It is deplorable that, once again, members of the Bolsonaro family have travelled to the United States to advocate for foreign intervention in Brazil," Lula wrote in a post on Friday. He specifically highlighted alleged efforts to halt the criminal prosecution of the ex-president, noting that Eduardo Bolsonaro, the ex-president's son, currently faces obstruction charges related to lobbying Trump to intervene in that case.

The diplomatic friction escalated after Trump imposed steep sanctions against Brazilian products in August 2025, citing the Bolsonaro trial as justification. This action reflects a broader shift under Trump toward an increasingly expansionist view of the Western Hemisphere, reviving the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine to describe the Americas as Washington's sphere of influence. Trump has also utilized crime as a justification for unilateral military action, ordering 59 strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, which resulted in at least 196 deaths. Additionally, on January 3, his administration launched a military operation against Venezuela that led to the abduction and imprisonment of then-President Nicolas Maduro on drug-trafficking charges.

While the Bolsonaro family has actively courted President Trump in recent months, President Lula has criticized these military-led actions as unjustified. Security is expected to be a dominant issue in the October election, a prospect that places Lula in an awkward position. He must condemn the "terrorist" label proposed by Bolsonaro without downplaying the extent of violence from these groups. To counter right-wing criticism that he has been lax on crime, Lula has pointed to his government's recent $11 billion investment in the "Brazil Against Organized Crime" programme. This initiative follows a separate $2 billion programme launched in March aimed at bolstering prisons, improving homicide investigations, and disrupting arms trafficking and other financial transactions carried out by criminal groups. Despite these efforts and the ongoing international tensions, the race between Lula and Bolsonaro remains closely contested as the election approaches.