List of criminal gangs in Brazil

This is a list of criminal gangs in Brazil, of Brazilian or foreign origin.

List

Amigos dos Amigos (Friends of Friends ; ADA) – operates in Rio de Janeiro. It began in 1998 when a member of § Comando Vermelho was expelled from the organization for ordering the assassination of another member. The gang's main rival is the § Terceiro Comando Puro. ADA controls many drug selling points in the North and West zones.[1]

Bonde do Maluco (Tram of the Crazy ; BDM) – Originating circa 2015 in the city of Salvador, state of Bahia, mostly involved in drug trafficking, robberies and kidnappings for ransom.[2][3] The faction has reportedly spread to the states of Sergipe, Goiás and Alagoas in recent years.[4]

Bonde dos 40 (Tram of the 40 ; B40) – Founded in the Pedrinhas Penitentiary Complex of São Luis, holds a significant presence through the states of Maranhão and Piauí, as well as in Mato Grosso.[5][6]

Comando Vermelho (Red Command ; CV) – Also known as CV-RL (Comando Vermelho Rogério Lemgruber), it is engaged primarily in drug trafficking, arms trafficking, protection rackets, kidnappings-for-ransom, carjacking of armored trucks, loansharking, irregular warfare, narcoterrorism,[7] and turf wars against rival criminal organizations, such as § Primeiro Comando da Capital and § Terceiro Comando Puro.[8][9]

Sindicato do Crime (Syndicate of Crime ; SDC) – the largest criminal organization operating within the prisons and drug trafficking strongholds of Rio Grande do Norte state. Like other organizations in the North and Northeast Region of the country, it was created in reaction to the control exercised by the § Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) over drug trafficking in the region.[10][11]

Escritório do Crime (Crime Office ; EC) – a criminal militia of gunmen and elite killers which grew out of land grabs and illegal real estate operations in construction, sale, and illegal rentals. The group operates primarily in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro.[12][13] Their chief activity is murder for hire.[13] The group is mainly composed of current and former military police.

Família do Norte (Northern Family ; FDN) – a criminal faction that occupies northern Brazil and some regions in Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.[14]

Liga da Justiça (Justice League ; CL220) – Also known as "Família Braga" (Braga Family) or "A Firma" (The Firm), its name references the famous superhero group from the DC Comics, and at its height it was considered the largest militia in Rio. Its members included many important police commanders and politicians, such as Natalino Guimarães, Jerominho and Ricardo Teixeira Cruz (a.k.a. Batman), many of which remain incarcerated. The group operates mostly around the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, and has the Cosmos neighborhood as its main territory.[15][16]

Primeiro Comando da Capital (First Capital Command ; PCC) – Also known as 15.3.3 or "Partido" (Party), it is South America's largest current drug cartel and one of the largest criminal organizations in Latin America, with at least 40,000 members and 60,000 "contractors". It has ties to § Terceiro Comando Puro and § Guardiões do Estado, as well as § 'Ndrangheta in Italy, § 'Tren de Aragua in Venezuela and many other Latin American and European organizations. It has reportedly increased its presence in Portugal and West Africa, using its links with local gangs and criminal organizations.[17]

Primeiro Grupo Catarinense (First Catarinense Group ; PGC) – The biggest criminal organization in Southern Brazil, operating mainly in the states of Santa Catarina and Paraná. It is known for their alliance with § Comando Vermelho and its ongoing rivalry with § Primeiro Comando da Capital.[18]

Guardiões do Estado (Guardians of the State ; GDE) – a Brazilian criminal organization operating in the state of Ceará. It is the 4th largest gang in Brazil and is made up mostly of teenagers and young adults.[19]

Terceiro Comando Puro (Pure Third Command ; TCP) – a Rio de Janeiro group that split off from § Terceiro Comando in 2002 due to disputes about TC's affiliations with the § Amigos dos Amigos gang. TC weakened while TCP strengthened and eventually absorbed its parent group's members. Primarily involved with drug trafficking.[20]

Foreign organizations

Group America - Serbian mafia and drug cartel operating in Europe, the United States and Latin America. Also known as the "Cartel of the Balkans", the group is heavily linked with the cocaine trade from South America to Europe, having reportedly established ties with § Primeiro Comando da Capital in Brazil.[21]

'Ndrangheta – Italian criminal organization dating to the 19th century, operating in Brazil since the 1970s and allied with § Primeiro Comando da Capital since the 2010s. It is considered a major actor in supplying South American crack cocaine to the European market.[22]

Tren de Aragua - the biggest Venezuelan drug cartel and one of the largest in Latin America. Operates in Northern Brazil alongside the § Primeiro Comando da Capital, engaging primarily in drugs and arms trafficking, as well as human smuggling, robberies, illegal mining, logging and extortion.[23]

Triad – a Chinese mafia group operating worldwide, including in Brazil. In São Paulo, they run protection money rackets, with shopkeepers in central São Paulo threatened with beatings, kidnapping or assassination if they fail to comply. They also participate in smuggling and drug trafficking, especially of methamphetamine, and are alleged to have a presence in Recife and Pernambuco.[24][25][26]

Former organizations

Terceiro Comando (Third Command) – founded in the early 1980s as a break-away faction of the § Red Command, Terceiro Comando dominated drug trafficking in Rio de Janeiro, and engaged in bank robbery and drug trafficking. It has disappeared since then and most of its members have joined § Terceiro Comando Puro.[27]

Zwi Migdal – Spread to Brazil during the late 19th century mainly through Polish Jewish immigrants, and at its height controlled most of the brothels in the Mangue neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro.[28] The group was a large controversy among the Brazilian Jewish community, largely due to its links to prostitution, which was seen as immoral by the mainstream Jewish communities. The organization eventually disappeared by the late 1930s, alongside its Argentinian counterparts.[29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ InSight Crime 2018.
  2. ↑ "Liderada por ladrão de banco, BDM surgiu dentro do Complexo da Mata Escura". www.correio24horas.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  3. ↑ Lima, Antonio dos Santos; Zimmermann, Clóvis Roberto (2022-01-09). "Rotas Alteradas: organizações Criminais, Hierarquia e Território na Atual Configuração do Mundo Crime na Bahia". Revista TOMO (in Portuguese) (40): 166–166. doi:10.21669/tomo.vi40.16001. ISSN 1517-4549.
  4. ↑ "Patrimônio da BDM chega a R$ 5 milhões, diz Polícia Federal". www.correio24horas.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  5. ↑ Thor/VGN, Lázaro (2024-08-12). "O que é Bonde dos 40, quarta facção com presença em Mato Grosso". VGN - Notícias em MT com credibilidade (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  6. ↑ "Bonde dos 40 está entre as cinco maiores facções do Brasil". O Imparcial (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  7. ↑ Uppsala 2024, Comando Vermelho.
  8. ↑ Uppsala 2024, CV–PCC.
  9. ↑ Uppsala 2024, CV–TCP.
  10. ↑ Istoé 2016.
  11. ↑ PortalBO 2014.
  12. ↑ Brasil 247 2019.
  13. 1 2 Albuquerque 2019.
  14. ↑ Jozino 2016.
  15. ↑ "Jerominho: saiba quem era o ex-vereador que fundou com irmão a milícia Liga da Justiça". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  16. ↑ Alessi, Gil (2019-05-08). "Os fundadores da milícia Liga da Justiça querem reerguer seu império político (e cuidar dos netos)". El País Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  17. ↑ Economist 2023.
  18. ↑ "Métodos brutais: como age a PGC, facção que entrou em guerra com PCC em SC". UOL (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2025-07-26. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  19. ↑ Segundo 2021.
  20. ↑ Uppsala 2024, TCP.
  21. ↑ "Balkan cartel, main supplier of cocaine in Europe". KOHA.net. 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  22. ↑ Feltran 2023, pp. 9–11.
  23. ↑ "1: Americas". Armed Conflict Survey. 8 (1): 39–101. 2022-12-31. doi:10.1080/23740973.2022.2135784. ISSN 2374-0973.
  24. ↑ Silva 2001.
  25. ↑ R7 2022.
  26. ↑ STJ 2016.
  27. ↑ Uppsala 2024, Terceiro Comando.
  28. ↑ Brener, Jayme (December 12, 1996). "Meideles of the Night". The Jerusalem Report. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  29. ↑ Lesser, Jeff (January 26, 1995). Welcoming the Undesirables: Brazil and the Jewish Question. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520084124 – via Google Books.

Works cited

  • InSight Crime (March 30, 2018). "Amigos dos Amigos". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
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