US sanctions drug trafficking leader in fight against Brazil's PCC gang

The U.S. Treasury on Thursday sanctioned a leader of Brazil's biggest drug trafficking outfit, becoming the first gang member to be designated, as Washington steps up its fight against the First Capital Command, or PCC. The Treasury said Diego Macedo Goncalves, who is currently behind bars for drug trafficking and a bank robbery, is responsible for laundering 1.2 billion reais ($241 million) for the PCC.

The U.S. Treasury on Thursday sanctioned a leader of Brazil's biggest drug trafficking outfit, becoming the first gang member to be designated, as Washington steps up its fight against the First Capital Command, or PCC.

The Treasury said Diego Macedo Goncalves, who is currently behind bars for drug trafficking and a bank robbery, is responsible for laundering 1.2 billion reais ($241 million) for the PCC. The gang has become South America's most powerful organized crime group in recent years. Goncalves was arrested in 2019 after an assault on a bank in the city of Uberaba, in which he and accomplices made off with over $5 million in cash.

In 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden imposed financial sanctions on the PCC, which was born in the prisons of Sao Paulo state in the early 1990s and now plays an active role in flooding Europe with South American cocaine. The designation of Goncalves represents the first time a member of the PCC has been singled out for sanctions by the United States.

"With an extensive network throughout Latin America, as well as an expanding global presence, the PCC represents one of the most significant narcotics trafficking organizations of concern in the region," Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a statement. ($1 = 4.9808 reais)

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