Brazil's Foreign Minister: U.S. May Use Military Force Against Brazil
According to reports from Agence France-Presse, United Press International, and other media outlets, the U.S. government designated two Brazilian criminal organizations as "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" in May this year. AFP obtained a letter this week from Brazil's Foreign Minister, Mauro Vieira, in which he warned that this move by the U.S. could serve as a pretext for further actions—and that there is a possibility of the United States resorting to military force on Brazilian territory.
The report states that in his letter to Brazil’s Congress, Vieira said: “This unilateral designation could be used as a justification for extraterritorial actions against Brazilian institutions, particularly in the areas of finance, migration, and crime… Additionally, there is a risk that the United States may employ military force on Brazilian soil.” He added that these groups had already been classified by the U.S. as transnational criminal organizations, and that existing mechanisms for law enforcement cooperation are sufficient—no new designation is necessary.
Vieira also pointed out that “the United States has not formally communicated its decision to designate Brazilian criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations to Brazil,” and stated that “the Brazilian government has already expressed opposition to this move.”
According to reports cited by United Press International and Brazilian media outlets such as G1, Vieira warned that this designation poses a “concrete risk” to Brazil’s national sovereignty, since U.S. anti-terrorism laws permit the use of force overseas to eliminate terrorist threats. The letter stated that this designation “would bring no substantial benefits to the cooperation between the U.S. and Brazil in combating organized crime.”
Previously, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio referred to the two criminal groups—the “First Capital Command” and the “Red Command”—as “Brazil’s two most violent criminal organizations,” claiming their influence extends far beyond Brazil’s borders, throughout the Americas, and even into the United States.
The report notes that during President Trump’s second term, the U.S. government expanded the scope of terrorism designations to include some drug trafficking organizations. The U.S. has launched military operations against some of these groups and conducted attacks on so-called “drug trafficking vessels” in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, resulting in over 200 deaths. However, the U.S. government has not released any evidence proving that the targeted vessels were involved in drug trafficking.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870284674138377/
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