Lula Rejects U.S. Designation of Brazilian Gangs as Terrorist Organizations

Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said his country would not be treated as a minor state after the United States designated Brazil's two largest criminal gangs as terrorist organizations, The Guardian reported. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement after meeting Flavio Bolsonaro, son of Lula's far-right predecessor, a timing Brasilia read as interference in domestic politics.

The designation fits a broader pattern of forceful U.S. action against drug networks in the region. American military strikes on suspected smuggling boats off the South American coast have produced a rising death count but have done little to curb the supply of cocaine, which researchers say remains as available in much of the United States as before the strikes began, The New York Times reported.

The friction matters economically because Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America and a leading member of the BRICS group of major emerging economies. A deepening rift with Washington pushes one of the Global South's most important states toward a posture more independent of the United States.