Politics
US to designate two Brazilian gangs as terrorist organisations
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 Cital (PCC) and theComando Vermelho, the two largest criminal networks in Brazil.
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The 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.
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 indicated that left-wing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has repeatedly tried to dissuade the Trump administration from plying the terrorist designation.
The fear is that such a designation could be used to penalise any group that comes in contact with the so-called terrorist group, including financial institutions and victims facing extortion.
Lula has also expressed concern about the growing threat of foreign interference in Latin America, particularly after a January 3 military operation in which the US abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Lula is running for a fourth non-consecutive term as president in October’s presidential race. While Lula is a critic of Trump, his main opponent, right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, has close ties with the US administration.
Thursday’s announcement comes after Trump met with Bolsonaro this week at the White House. The senator told reporters afterwards that he had actively petitioned Trump to designate the PCC and Comando Vermelho as terrorist groups.
Trump has previously intervened in Brazilian politics on the Bolsonaro family’s behalf.
Last year, he raised tariffs against Brazil to nearly 50 percent in an act of solidarity with Bolsonaro’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Like Trump, Jair Bolsonaro was indicted for attempting to subvert democracy after his 2022 election defeat. Despite Trump’s calls for the case against the elder Bolsonaro to end, the former president was ultimately sentenced to 27 years in prison.
The ex-president’s younger son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, is currently facing trial for obstruction for seeking Trump’s intervention on his father’s behalf.
The question of public safety is likely to loom large in the race between Flavio Bolsonaro and Lula, whom polls show to be neck and neck.
Recent clashes between law enforcement and criminal groups like the Comando Vermelho are also expected to weigh heavily on the presidential election.
Last October, for instance, a police raid in Rio de Janeiro left more than 120 people dead. Another operation in March killed eight people.
Critics of the police raids have argued that decades of militarised confrontation have fuelled violence and rights abuses.
Armed confrontation with young drug traffickers from the outskirts is ineffective and fails to deal with the complexity of money laundering and its links to financial crime, Luis Flavio Sori, a sociologist and public safety expert at Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, told The Associated Press news agency.
To address public security concerns, Lula launched a $2bn initiative in March to attack the financial underpinnings of criminal networks like the PCC and the Comando Vermelho.
The money is also slated for use in disrupting arms trafficking, improving the prison system and investing in homicide investigations.
In the aftermath of Thursday’s terrorist designations, Celso Amorim, Lula’s adviser on foreign affairs, warned that the US should not use the label to infringe upon Brazilian sovereignty.
Organized crime is an evil that must be fought. International cooperation is welcome, especially in matters of money laundering and arms trade, Amorim said.
But, he added, any pretext for intervention would be unacceptable.
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Politics
3 dead, 4 missing as boat capsizes in Ganga, in Bihar
At least three people died and four others went missing after a boat carrying 14 passengers csized in the river Ganga in Bihar’s Samastipur district on Thursday morning, police said.
The incident took place around 5.45 am and the rescue teams said seven passengers were rescued, while search operations for the missing people continued till late in the evening.
Three deaths have been confirmed so far and four persons are still missing, Mohiuddin Nagar circle officer Brijesh Kumar Dwivedi said, adding that the deceased included a woman.
According the district administration, the 14 passengers, all residents of Masoomganj Bind Toli under Barh police station in Patna district, were crossing the Ganga to Sultanpur Diara in Mohiuddin Nagar for agricultural work and were returning to Umanath Ghat with vegetables from parwal fields when the accident occurred.
Patna district magistrate SM Thiyagarajan said the boat carrying 14 people csized due to strong winds and added that teams from Samastipur and Patna district administrations are jointly carrying out rescue operations.
Through the joint efforts of local divers, NDRF and SDRF teams, three bodies have been recovered so far. Search and rescue operations are underway to locate and recover the bodies of the remaining four missing individuals, Barh SDPO-1 Ram Krishna said. He informed that the boat was a small dinghy whose motor had reportedly malfunctioned and stopped working properly, after which it overturned amid strong winds.
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12 injured in clashes between rival groups in Nuh villages after Eid prayers
Clashes broke out between rival groups in two villages in Nuh district after Bakrid (Eid al-Adha) prayers, leaving at least 12 people injured in both incidents, police said.
The first incident occurred in Nizampur village, where the clash stemmed from an old Panchayat election dispute that left six people injured. An argument had broken out between a faction led by Jamil and the one led by Ramzi after the morning prayer that soon escalated into a violent clash.
According to eyewitnesses, the two groups pelted stones at each other and also used sticks and axes in the fight, creating panic in the village.
After receiving information, police from the Akera police station arrived at the scene and pacified the warring factions.
Inspector Virendra Kumar, SHO of Akera Police Station, said that neither party has filed a complaint yet and added that they are monitoring the situation.
Kumar said they will take action once they receive a complaint.
The second tussle took place in Singar village between two groups over an old rivalry. A minor altercation escalated into a violent brawl, leaving at least half a dozen people injured, police said.
Upon receiving information, Bichor police arrived at the scene and brought the situation under control.
All the injured were admitted to the Punhana Community Health Centre, where they are currently undergoing treatment.
According to doctors, the condition of one of the injured remains critical. Doctors said he suffered a serious head injury and was referred to Shaheed Raja Hasan Khan Mewati Medical College, Nalhar.
Inspector Sukhbir, SHO of Bichor police station, said he had not received any complaint.
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