Lawmakers summon foreign minister over U.S. military warning

Brazil’s Lower House Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Wednesday approved a motion summoning Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira to explain the Foreign Ministry’s assessment that the U.S. designation of Brazilian criminal organizations as foreign terrorist groups could create legal grounds for military action by the United States in Brazil. The summons makes the minister’s appearance before the committee mandatory. The motion was introduced by Congressman Evair Vieira de Melo, who had previously submitted a request for information to the Foreign Ministry. In its response, the ministry said Washington’s possible designation of the CV and PCC criminal organizations as foreign terrorist groups could allow the U.S. government to use military force in Brazil. U.S. sanctions Brazilians over alleged PCC money laundering Europol says PCC now works with all criminal groups in Europe Brazilian banks may tighten client checks after U.S. move In the letter sent to the Lower House in response to Vieira de Melo’s request for information, the Foreign Ministry described the measure as “unilateral,” said the Brazilian government had not been formally notified of Washington’s intentions and warned that the designation could create legal grounds for the use of military force. The Foreign Ministry also said it believes the measure could have significant implications for both Brazil’s economy and its national sovereignty. According to the document, the designation could allow U.S. authorities to adopt unilateral, extraterritorial administrative and judicial measures against Brazilian individuals, companies, or organizations, including those with no direct ties to the United States or whose links to the designated groups are indirect or merely inadvertent. Congressman Evair Vieira de Melo described the Foreign Ministry’s response to his request for information as “vague and generic.” “Instead of providing objective information, it limited itself, in several passages, to presenting general observations about the Brazilian government’s institutional position, without clarifying essential aspects needed for Congress to exercise its oversight role,” he said. According to the congressman, the minister also failed to explain whether technical opinions, diplomatic communications, specialized studies or other official documents supported the ministry’s assessment of those risks. “I believe this issue is far from settled. The Foreign Ministry’s response raises more questions than it answers and reinforces the need for further congressional oversight,” he said. Asked on Wednesday about the possible risks to Brazil, Supreme Court Chief Justice Edson Fachin said Brazil is a sovereign state and expressed confidence that its sovereignty would prevail, even though the Foreign Ministry had warned about the possibility of U.S. military action. “Brazil is a sovereign state, and sovereignty is exercised with firmness and serenity. We are confident that this will prevail, both here in our region and in the broader community of nations,” Fachin said at an event in São Paulo after being asked by reporters about the possibility of a U.S. invasion of Brazil. Fachin made the remarks after a ceremony marking the creation of specialized state courts to handle organized crime and money laundering cases. The initiative is being implemented by the São Paulo State Court of Justice. The designation of Brazilian criminal organizations as terrorist groups has also been used politically by senator and presidential hopeful Flávio Bolsonaro, who has reiterated his support for classifying the PCC and Comando Vermelho as terrorist organizations. Flávio is currently in Washington, where he took part in a public hearing on Tuesday held by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on proposed tariffs on Brazilian products. During a previous visit to the United States, Flávio said he had discussed the terrorist designation of the criminal organizations with President Donald Trump. The senator welcomed the U.S. decision, said it fulfilled a request he had made, and thanked the Republican president. Mauro Vieira Vinicius Loures/Câmara dos Deputados