By Indianara Goz
A warning posted on X on November 1 has stirred debate over the direction of relations between Brasília and Washington. The account @areamilitarof (Área Militar) claims that U.S. President Donald Trump "may adopt diplomatic and economic actions against Brazil similar to Venezuela." The post comes with a video. So far, no report found by VDD confirms that the White House has announced any such measure against Brazil.
What the X account says
According to the post, the scenario would be pressure on two fronts, diplomatic and economic, along the lines of what the United States did to the Venezuelan regime. The post does not say which measures would be adopted or when, and it treats the matter as a risk, not as a decision already made. It should therefore be read as one account's warning, not as established fact.
What the press reports
There is, however, background that helps explain the concern. According to the outlet prensamercosur.org, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva intends to make public security one of the priorities of its fourth term. The same report says the Planalto, the seat of the Brazilian presidency, refuses to classify the PCC (First Capital Command) and the Comando Vermelho (Red Command), Brazil's two best-known criminal gangs, as terrorist organizations. In the government's view, the groups have economic goals tied to drug and arms trafficking and territorial control, with no political or ideological motivation.
The report adds a sensitive point: the government fears that the framing favored by the United States could open the way to sanctions and interventions justified as counterterrorism. The Planalto links that risk to the operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro. In other words, fear of a "Venezuelan scenario" exists inside the government itself, although the report does not say Trump plans to act against Brazil.
Flávio Bolsonaro's position and Lula's gesture
The issue has become a major theme of the campaign. According to the outlet, Flávio Bolsonaro, of the Liberal Party (PL), has called for classifying the PCC and Comando Vermelho as narcoterrorist organizations, expanding incarceration, building prisons and creating an elite force for the borders. It is a hard line against the gangs, in step with what part of the public has demanded for years.
The same report says that on May 7, 2026, Lula handed Trump a proposal for cooperation against money laundering and arms trafficking, including intelligence sharing. Brazil was still awaiting a response. Another outlet, O Brasilianista, published a piece titled "The Trump-Lula relationship will change," but the available excerpt gives no details.
Why it matters
Brazil is South America's largest country, and any U.S. move on how to label its organized crime groups would carry diplomatic and economic weight. The dispute over whether the gangs are "terrorists" is now tied to a broader question of how far Washington could go, and how Brasília would respond.
What to watch next
The points to watch in the coming days are the U.S. response to the cooperation proposal and the debate over classifying the gangs. It is also worth following whether the White House says anything about Brazil and whether the Planalto changes its position under pressure. VDD will keep following the story.
VDD Analysis
When a government refuses to call armed, territorial gangs by the name many Brazilians already use for them, it creates room for the outside pressure it says it fears. Public security is a matter of sovereignty, and the best defense against any interference is to show results at home, with firmness against organized crime, as the opposition demands.
This article reports on a post by the @areamilitarof account on X. At the time of publication, VDD had found no confirmation of the claim in other outlets; the content reflects what the account asserts.
