HomeNewsAnalysisBrazil's Biggest Gang Sets Sights on Regional Expansion
ANALYSIS

Brazil's Biggest Gang Sets Sights on Regional Expansion

ARGENTINA / 31 MAY 2017 BY DAVID GAGNE EN

A slew of recent reports indicates Brazil's PCC is stepping up its criminal activities in countries throughout South America, which one expert says is a clear sign that the fearsome prison gang is looking to become the region's most powerful drug trafficking organization.  

The most recent report came out of Paraguay, where authorities announced on May 30 that they had dismantled the largest aerial trafficking network operated by the First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital - PCC) in the country.

According to Paraguay's National Anti-Drug Secretariat (Secretaría Nacional Antidrogas - SENAD), the PCC network trafficked up to 5 metric tons of cocaine per month and made as many as 20 drug flights during that time span. The group earned some $3.5 million each month from cocaine trafficking, officials said.

The operation targeting the network, dubbed "Pulp Fiction," resulted in the seizure of 513 kilograms of cocaine and a plane used to fly the drugs, as well as the arrests of two men. The cocaine was confiscated in the Paraguayan border town of Bella Vista Norte.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Paraguay

Meanwhile in Argentina, two official intelligence documents reviewed by Clarín said that 30 PCC members have entered the northern province of Corrientes. The documents said it was not clear why the PCC would penetrate Argentina, but warned "there could be an attack, even against the president."

The alarm caused by these documents was so great that the authorities have doubled the number of security agents protecting Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Clarín reported.

There have also been reports of potential PCC activity in Uruguay and Bolivia. Over the weekend, Brazilian police informed their Uruguayan counterparts that the PCC could be planning a high-powered heist similar to the one that took place in April in the Paraguayan town of Ciudad del Este. In that instance, a group of approximately 50 heavily-armed men believed to belong to the PCC attacked a security company and stole more than $11 million, in what was called the "robbery of the century."

On May 30, Uruguayan Interior Minister Eduardo Bonomi admitted that Brazilians have committed robberies within the country but downplayed the idea that the PCC was preparing such a large heist, reported Montevideo Portal

"It doesn't seem to me that Uruguay is an important objective for an organization with those characteristics; but it's also not for one to say that nothing is happening," Bonomi said.

And earlier this month, Bolivian Interior Minister Carlos Romero said the PCC and a rival Brazilian prison gang, the Red Command (Comando Vermelho), could be moving weapons through the country. His comments came just days after he said the Brazilian gangs were "spreading out" in Bolivia in order to commit robberies and grab control of the drug trade.  

Bolivian authorities believe the PCC and Red Command were responsible for several thefts reported in March and the attempted kidnapping of a family in late April.

InSight Crime Analysis 

It is important to note that several of these reports do not contain conclusive evidence of PCC activity, and their veracity has not been independently verified. Still, taken together they paint a picture of an expansionist gang hungry to explore the boundaries of its power.

Indeed, for Bruno Paes Manso, a researcher with the Center for the Study of Violence at the University of São Paulo, the reports would indicate the PCC is staking its claim as the biggest player in the regional drug trade.

"It is clear now that they are trying to become the biggest supplier of cocaine in the South American market," Manso told InSight Crime. 

According to Manso, Brazil's neighbors are attractive to the PCC for different reasons. Paraguay is a major producer of marijuana, while Bolivia is an important supplier of cocaine and unrefined coca base. Both types of drugs are consumed in large quantities in Brazil and are important sources of revenue for the PCC, which was born in the prisons of São Paulo but has since grown to become the only gang in the country with a national reach.

SEE ALSO: PCC News and Profile

The PCC has had a presence in both Bolivia and Paraguay for years, although the recent reports suggest their influence may be stronger than previously thought. By gaining a foothold in these countries, the PCC is able to cut out the middlemen in the drug supply chain and thereby increase their profits. 

But reports of the PCC setting up operations in Argentina and Uruguay represent a totally different dynamic, Manso said. For one thing, the PCC was not previously known to have operations in either country. For another, they are not significant producers of illicit drugs. In these countries, Manso believes, the PCC is interested in controlling the sale, rather than the production, of illegal drugs.

"Argentina, Uruguay, they are consumer markets," he said. 

There are still no definitive answers to how strong the PCC has become outside of Brazil. But given the gang's reputation for violence, just the prospect of international expansion is sure to alarm Brazil's neighbors. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ARGENTINA / 24 SEP 2021

An influx of contraband chicken from Argentina into Paraguay has overwhelmed the local market and is threatening to put local…

ARGENTINA / 8 NOV 2022

Argentina’s most violent city, Rosario, looks set to beat its homicide record set one decade ago. But the city’s criminal…

BRAZIL / 20 MAY 2021

The environment minister under investigation. The head of the environmental protection agency suspended. The Brazilian government is facing its strongest…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…