May 28 (Reuters) – The United States intends to designate Brazilian gangs PCC and Comando Vermelho as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” from June 5, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday.
The Lula administration in Brazil has tried to avoid such designations because it could open a path for military action by the U.S. in Brazil or sanctions against banks that unknowingly do business with gang members.
While the FTO designation was planned to take effect in June, the U.S. Department of State designated the gangs as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” on Thursday, Rubio said in a statement.
Rubio said the gangs were two of the “most violent criminal organizations in Brazil” and their influence and networks extend across the region 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.
(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones and Ismail Shakil)
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