RT | Wednesday, July 8, 2026 
Brazil sounds alarm over US invasion threat

The US decision to brand Brazil’s two biggest criminal groups as terrorist organizations could serve as a pretext for military intervention, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry has warned. Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira issued the warning in a letter sent to Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies last week, responding to lawmakers’ questions about Washington’s decision to designate the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV) as terrorist organizations, CNN Brazil reported on Tuesday. The US added the gangs to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) on June 5, placing them in the same legal category as groups such as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). Although framed by Washington as a crackdown on transnational crime, Brasilia fears the move could give the US sweeping extraterritorial powers and turn a domestic security issue into a matter of counterterrorism policy. Addressing lawmakers, Vieira argued that Washington’s existing designation of the gangs as ‘transnational criminal organizations’ already allows broad cooperation with Brazil in combating organized crime, making the FTO listing unnecessary. “Such application can occur with a wide degree of discretion… with serious possibilities of implications for Brazilian citizens in financial, immigration, and criminal matters. Finally, there is the possibility of the use of military force by the United States on Brazilian territory,” CNN Brazil cited the Foreign Ministry as saying…Read more