Death of 'King of the Border' fueled Acre gang wars

The 2016 execution of drug trafficker Jorge Rafaat Toumani, known as the ‘King of the Border,’ is cited as a major catalyst for the escalation of violence between criminal factions in the Brazilian state of Acre. According to Colonel Marta Renata Freitas, General Commander of the Acre Military Police, the assassination in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay, triggered a violent struggle for control over strategic drug trafficking routes.

Rafaat’s influence extended beyond the Paraguay-Mato Grosso do Sul border into Acre, a critical corridor for cocaine entering Brazil from the Andean region via the borders with Peru and Bolivia. Following his death, a power vacuum emerged, leading to intense territorial disputes between the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and the Comando Vermelho (CV). This conflict contributed to one of the most violent periods in the state’s recent history as organizations fought to dominate international trafficking routes.