SAO PAULO - Brazil's government on Friday said the U.S. move to designate Brazilian drug gangs as terrorist organizations was confused and counterproductive, threatening national sovereignty and international cooperation to combat crime.

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a policy to designate Brazil's two biggest criminal gangs as terrorist groups, opening the door for more aggressive interventions after appeals from the opposition in Brasilia.

"We will not accept arbitrary measures from abroad as a pretext to attack our sovereignty and our economy," Brazil's presidency said in a statement. "Unilateral measures without negotiation can weaken the fight against crime ... They can hurt the ability to share information between police."

The U.S. embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a meeting with Trump this week in Washington, Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who is preparing a run for president with the blessing of his father, ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, said he asked for the U.S. to label the gangs as terrorists.

The administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had tried to avoid such designations, fearing they may pave the way for eventual U.S. military action or sanctions against banks that unknowingly do business with gang members.

In public remarks, Lula, who is running for re-election in October, accused Senator Bolsonaro of "betraying our homeland and going to the U.S. to ask for intervention in Brazil."

Lula himself had also met with Trump at the White House to discuss ways to combat organized crime, but said at the time they did not discuss the possibility of Washington designating the Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) gangs as terrorist organizations.

He called the U.S. decision "disappointing" and vowed to stay focused on the domestic fight against both gangs, which dominate the drug trade in much of Brazil and have expanded ties around Latin America.

(Reporting by Gabriel AraujoAdditional reporting by Oliver GriffinEditing by Brad Haynes and Aurora Ellis)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 1:24 PM.

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