The US State Department has designated two Brazilian criminal groups as foreign terrorist organisations. The two gangs, First Command of the Capital, or PCC, and Red Command, or CV, likely have more than 50,000 members combined, according to experts. Designating criminal cartels in Latin America as foreign terrorist organisations is a strategy that the Trump administration has used as it turns to military activity and other aggressive steps to combat drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.

With Brazil’s presidential election set to take place in October, supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro have called for the designation as they target President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s public security policies. Lula, who is seeking reelection and is trying to boost his anti-crime credentials, has openly opposed labelling criminals as terrorists, while Bolsonaro’s supporters in Congress have publicly urged Trump to hit harder on the gangs.