Brazil establishes national database to target ultraviolent criminal factions

The number of criminal‑organization cases in Brazil’s first‑instance courts has almost doubled in five years, rising from 1,700 in 2020 to 3,300 in 2025, with pending cases climbing 156% to more than 13,000. In June, the United States classified the PCC and CV gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, prompting Brazilian legislators to propose tighter anti‑terrorism measures and stricter entry bans for members of such groups.

The Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) has created a technical working group to draft regulations for a National Database of Ultraviolent Criminal Organizations, Paramilitary Groups and Private Militias. The proposed system will integrate data on members, financiers, structures and transnational links, and will be coordinated by the National Secretariat of Public Safety. Secretary Chico Lucas said the initiative “represents an advance in the state’s capacity to confront organized crime.” The database will link with state‑level systems and allow coordinated intelligence sharing across agencies.

These steps aim to strengthen prevention, monitoring, investigation and repression of organized crime throughout Brazil.