Narco Corruption in Brazil

Brazil is one of the world’s largest cocaine transit and consumer countries. Its criminal landscape is dominated by the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) (now Latin America’s largest drug gang with ~40,000 members) and the Comando Vermelho (CV). Since 2014, PCC pivoted from domestic sales to controlling cocaine exports through the Port of Santos (South America’s largest), partnering with Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta and expanding into Mozambique and West Africa.

A unique Brazilian phenomenon: militias in Rio de Janeiro. These are paramilitary groups of current/former security personnel who control territory, extort residents, and infiltrate politics through neo-Pentecostal church networks.