Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has denounced a decision by the United States to designate two of the country's largest criminal networks as 'terrorists', warning that the label could be a 'setback' for local law enforcement efforts.

In a 435-word social media post, Lula drew a distinction between criminal activities and international terrorism. 'The terror inflicted by these organisations upon communities seeks to generate profit through crime — specifically through drug and arms trafficking,' he wrote. These activities, however violent, 'must not be conflated with the ideologically, politically, or religiously motivated actions characteristic of international terrorism'.

Lula's statement came in response to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's announcement designating the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV) as 'specially designated global terrorists'. The US regime also plans to add them to the list of 'foreign terrorist organisations' effective June 5.

Lula expressed concern that the 'terrorist' label could pave the way for US military intervention. 'We will not tolerate the imposition of arbitrary measures from abroad, nor will we accept their use as a pretext to undermine our sovereignty or our economy,' he wrote. Experts warn that such restrictions could affect financial institutions and even victims forced to pay extortion.

Lula accused Senator Flavio Bolsonaro of leveraging family connections to 'petition foreign authorities' for favour, pointing to alleged efforts to stop the criminal prosecution of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Security is expected to be a dominant issue in October's presidential race, with Lula and Bolsonaro tied at 45% voter support each.

Source: www.aljazeera.com