Brazil, United States deepen cooperation to combat organized crime
An aerial photograph of cargo containers in the port of Santos in Sao Paulo, Brazil and the United States have reached an agreement to better track illegal shipments. File Photo by Isaac Fontana/EPA
April 10 (UPI) — The government of Brazil on Friday announced an agreement with the United States to combat transnational crime — a move that will integrate intelligence sharing and joint operations to target organized criminal networks.
The initiative was presented by Brazil’s finance ministry, where Minister Darío Durigan said the agreement between Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will enable the exchange of cargo data, particularly on shipments leaving the United States for Brazil.
The focus will be on intercepting illegal goods, such as weapons and narcotics.
The announcement comes as Washington considers designating Brazil-based criminal groups Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho as terrorist organizations, according to outlet G1 O’Globo.
The effort gained traction after Eduardo Bolsonaro and Flávio Bolsonaro, sons of former President Jair Bolsonaro, urged members of the administration of Donald Trump to take action, The New York Times reported. U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed any such designation.
Brazilian authorities also highlighted the rollout of the DESARMA program, a system designed to allow real-time information sharing when customs officials identify shipments linked to firearms, ammunition, explosives and other sensitive materials.
Officials said the tool enables authorities to trace the origin of illicit goods and map criminal networks involved in the international arms trade.
Recent records show the system has expanded the ability to detect, connect and track illicit weapons flows, with early results already benefiting both countries.
U.S.-provided intelligence has helped uncover sophisticated smuggling methods, including rifle components hidden inside airsoft equipment and drugs concealed in packages labeled as common goods such as pet food sent through postal services.
Over the past 12 months, authorities identified 35 incidents involving the seizure of 1,168 items, weighing about 550 kilograms, primarily shipped from Florida using fraudulent declarations and concealment techniques.
Brazil’s tax revenue secretary, Robinson Barreirinhas, said more than 1,100 weapons were seized over the past 12 months arriving from the United States, and that in the first quarter alone, authorities have seized more than 1.5 tons of drugs.
Brazil’s finance ministry said consolidating this data into a structured database has improved identification of patterns, links between senders and recipients, and recurring trafficking routes. This, in turn, has strengthened information-sharing with U.S. authorities to support enforcement action at the source and dismantle criminal networks.
The ministry added that the cooperation is part of ongoing dialogue between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Trump, and forms part of a broader bilateral agenda focused on combating transnational organized crime.