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The Comando Vermelho (CV), or Red Command, has become a major regional threat from sending cocaine to Europe, contributing to devastating the Amazon, and fighting endless wars with rivals.
The Comando Vermelho is one of the oldest and most influential criminal organizations in Brazil, having emerged in the 1970s within the Rio de Janeiro penitentiary system.
Since then, the group has consolidated itself through territorial control, drug trafficking, and strategic alliances, playing a prominent role in both national criminal dynamics and the international organized crime landscape. In recent years, the CV has been expanding its operations abroad – mainly toward Europe – while simultaneously growing and engaging in conflicts in various Brazilian states.
At the same time, it faces rivals such as the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Rio’s militias in disputes that affect both public security and the urban configuration of many regions.
The Comando Vermelho was born from the forced coexistence of political prisoners and common criminals during the military dictatorship (1964–1985) in Rio de Janeiro prisons. In this environment, they shared knowledge and organizational techniques, initiating a movement that would later become a criminal faction predominantly focused on drug trafficking. The absence of public policies in Rio’s peripheral areas and favelasallowed the group to establish drug sales networks and exert local influence by imposing a “parallel justice.”
While solidifying its hold in Rio de Janeiro, the Comando Vermelho gradually advanced into other regions, disputing territory with local gangs or the PCC.
In Brazil’s North region, it took advantage of river routes for trafficking; in the Northeast region, it sought logistical bases and new markets.
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