The United States has announced its intention to designate two Brazilian gangs as “terrorist” organisations, continuing a push under President Donald Trump to blur the distinction between criminal and “terrorist” activity.Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the designations would target the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and the Comando Vermelho, the two largest criminal networks in Brazil.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe “Foreign Terrorist Organization” label will be effective starting June 5.In the meantime, Rubio explained that they had already been assigned to the category of “Specially Designated Global Terrorists”, a similar category that draws its authority from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).Both designations block the groups’ access to US assets, though the “foreign terrorist” label is considered to be more restrictive.Rubio said the measures were necessary to ensure the safety of US citizens.“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 in a statement.Since returning to the White House for a second term, Trump has sought “terrorist” designations for multiple Latin American criminal networks.The efforts have been criticised as a pretext to expand US military influence across the Western Hemisphere, as part of Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine”, his spin on the 19th-century expansionist policy known as the Monroe Doctrine. Advertisement But the decision to designate two Brazilian criminal groups is likely to send shockwaves in the South American country’s politics, where a heated presidential election is under way.Media reports have i …
