Flavio Bolsonaro Urges Trump To Label Brazil’s Biggest Crime Gangs As Terrorist Organizations

Brazilian conservative presidential hopeful Flavio Bolsonaro, has revealed that he personally asked US President Donald Trump to officially classify Brazil’s two largest criminal gangs Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) as terrorist organizations.

Bolsonaro made the disclosure on Tuesday after a meeting with Trump at the White House, saying the two groups have evolved beyond ordinary criminal networks and now operate with the structure and influence of narco-terrorist organisations.

“I went specifically to ask him to designate the CV and PCC as terrorist organizations, because that’s what they are,” the senator told reporters in Washington.

The request comes at a politically sensitive time in Brazil, where Bolsonaro is locked in a fierce presidential race against incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of the country’s next election cycle.

The Trump administration has reportedly been considering extending its “narco-terrorist” designation policy already used against several Mexican and Colombian cartels to Brazilian criminal syndicates. Analysts say such a move could significantly reshape regional security cooperation and potentially open the door for deeper US intelligence and operational involvement in Latin America.

Bolsonaro’s comments immediately intensified the growing political divide between conservatives and Lula’s left-wing government over how to tackle organised crime.

Lula has strongly opposed any terrorist classification for the gangs, warning that it could create legal and diplomatic pathways for possible foreign military involvement inside Brazil.

The Brazilian president reportedly raised the same issue during his own White House meeting with Trump two weeks earlier, urging the US administration not to pursue the designation.

But Bolsonaro sharply criticized Lula’s approach. “Lula goes on his knees, crawling, to beg the US president Trump,” Bolsonaro said. “I do the opposite.”

The senator also used the Washington visit to strengthen his image as a pro-US conservative candidate closely aligned with Trump’s regional security agenda. He announced that if elected president, Brazil would formally join Trump’s recently launched Americas security alliance involving 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

“That is Brazil’s place: as a key player in the security of the Americas, shoulder to shoulder with free and sovereign nations,” he stated.

Flavio Bolsonaro is the eldest son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who remains jailed after being convicted over an alleged coup attempt following his election defeat.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the elder Bolsonaro’s prosecution, a position that has further strained relations between Washington and Lula’s administration.

The younger Bolsonaro, however, denied seeking direct US political endorsement for his campaign. “He was very interested in the election, but there was no statement of support, nor should there have been one,” he said.

The White House has not officially commented on the meeting or confirmed whether Trump intends to move forward with the requested terrorist designation.