The US is now using the ‘terrorist’ label to interfere in Brazil’s election

What the report says

Al Jazeera says the United States’ decision to label Brazil’s two largest criminal groups, Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), as “terrorist” organisations has consequences that go beyond policing and may affect Brazil’s politics. In the piece published on 13 August 2026, author Raphael Tsavkko Garcia argues that the move reflects a mix of Washington’s interventionist tradition in Latin America and pressure from Brazil’s far right, rather than a new security assessment.

The article notes that PCC and CV are longstanding criminal networks with a major role in violence and organized crime, but says their purpose is profit and territorial power rather than political change. It also says the timing is significant because former president Jair Bolsonaro’s family has sought support in the United States during their conflict with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government.

According to Al Jazeera, Bolsonaro’s son Flavio, who is presented as Lula’s main challenger in the October election, has pushed US officials to take a harder line and portray the government as weak on crime. The article also says Eduardo Bolsonaro has lobbied in the US for sanctions and tariffs, and that Brazilian courts have punished him over that campaign. An August 11 CNT/MDA poll cited in the piece placed Lula at 42.4 percent in the first round and Flavio Bolsonaro at 28.7 percent.

The report says the designation could give US authorities more tools to freeze assets and impose sanctions, while also complicating police cooperation and increasing scrutiny of Brazilian financial systems and payment networks such as PIX. It warns that the broader effect may be to expand US influence over Brazil’s security policy.