(Analysis) The Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), Brazil’s largest criminal organization, is expanding its operations into the United States. With approximately forty-two thousand members worldwide, including one thousand living abroad, the PCC has begun using illegal immigrants as “soldiers” for their criminal activities.
PCC members are entering the United States to evade Brazilian justice, launder money, and facilitate arms trafficking back to Brazil. Police reports suggest the syndicate is also attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country on a small scale.
Brazilian and American authorities have been warning about the PCC’s expansion for over a decade. U.S. intelligence services have identified an increasing number of PCC members entering the country illegally.
Investigations have pinpointed Miami, Florida, as a preferred location for PCC operations. The syndicate’s presence has also been detected in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
The U.S. government’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) unit has been reporting a high number of PCC members arrested in the Boston area, all of whom are being deported back to Brazil.
One notable case involves a forty-two-year-old PCC member arrested in the United States in August, suspected of participating in a money laundering scheme that allegedly moved around R$ 1.2 billion ($240 million) for the criminal organization.
PCC’s Global Expansion: Brazilian Crime Syndicate Infiltrates the United States
Brian Nelson, U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, has expressed serious concern about the PCC’s growing influence, describing it as one of the most significant drug trafficking groups in the region.
The PCC’s activities in the United States primarily focus on arms trafficking to Brazil, cocaine smuggling into the U.S., and money laundering. The syndicate also uses the U.S. as a safe haven for investments and to escape Brazilian authorities.
In response to these threats, the U.S. government has implemented sanctions against individuals linked to organized crime. In December twenty twenty-one, President Joe Biden signed an order allowing the Treasury to penalize people and criminal groups involved in international drug trafficking.
The U.S. Treasury Department and the São Paulo Public Ministry signed a cooperation agreement in twenty twenty-two to combat transnational criminal organizations. This agreement has facilitated information sharing and enabled sanctions against PCC members and their money laundering operations.
As the PCC continues to expand its global reach and diversify its criminal activities, law enforcement agencies worldwide face new challenges in combating this powerful and adaptable criminal organization.
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