President Donald Trump’s administration was not the only one to approach Rio de Janeiro’s state government with a request to add Commando Vermelho (CV) to the U.S. sanctions list and designate it as a terrorist group or transnational organization. Federal Police Secretary General Victor dos Santos told the blog Segredos do Crime that he was in Italy with General Michele Carbone, head of the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate (DIA), the Italian agency responsible for combating money laundering by the mafia and organized crime.
In speeches and interviews, Santos has defended the “follow the money” adage, which aims to attack criminal forces through loss of assets and diminished profits. He said there were signs of links between CV and Calabria’s ‘Ndrangheta mafia. In 2021, federal police arrested members of this mafia group in the state of Paraiba. Investigations revealed that there are links between the ‘Ndrangheta and the PCC.
_ Americans put names of criminals on lists and spread the word. We would like Commando Vermelho to join this restricted list, just like PCC, which is already on the list. By recognizing CV as an international organization, its name will first appear on the list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), an agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The same goes for Italy. Their names are on the Siena System’s Europol list of international criminals operating in Europe. The idea is that you can browse data and feed data into the system. When you enter Italy, you are actually entering the whole of Europe,” the Secretary explained.
The Anti-Mafia Investigation Department kidnaps thousands of businesses, properties, and other assets from criminal organizations every year. According to the secretary, controlling territory allows factions to line their pockets and make profits.
_ You will need to exchange experience with intelligence agencies and obtain materials and equipment for tracking. They can invite foreign experts to train police officers, or they can send their own experts to the field. Having detected the presence of the ‘Ndrangheta, we went to Italy to exchange data. We have concluded a technical cooperation agreement with DIA. The head of the agency, General Carbone, welcomed us to do just that, to facilitate the exchange of information. Both countries benefit from this joint effort,” Santos concluded.
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