In a statement, Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security has refuted allegations made by the US president that there are failures or omissions in the fight against transnational organized crime.

Donald Trump criticized the Brazilian government for, in his view, failing to confront Brazilian criminal organizations Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV). The statement appears in an annual report sent to the US Congress, dated Tuesday (Sep. 15).

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In it, the US leader lists countries considered significant in the trafficking or production of illicit drugs for fiscal year 2027, in addition to presenting individual assessments of various governments.

According to the Brazilian government, the position set forth in Trump’s document “would, if accepted in its entirety, disregard the federal government’s efforts to combat organized crime, such as the Anti-Gang Law, enacted in March 2026, which provides for harsher penalties for ring leaders and creates mechanisms to stifle their operations.”

Trump also stated that while many governments in the Western Hemisphere have adopted bold measures to reduce drug flows and eradicate cartels, the Brazilian government has failed to confront the foreign terrorist organizations known as Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho, which have turned Brazil into a hub for global cocaine flows.

These Brazilian terrorist organizations, Trump went on to argue, pose a growing threat to peace and security around the world, and the Brazilian government urgently needs to take aggressive measures to confront and defeat them before they spread and grow.

The Brazilian ministry further argues that the US president’s statement also fails to take into account “the tens of thousands of operations” carried out by federal forces to combat crime, “resulting in billions of reais in losses to criminals, as well as the numerous actions implemented in 2026 under the Brazil Against Organized Crime Program, launched last May, which economically strangles criminal factions, strengthens the prison system, improves homicide investigations, and combats arms trafficking.”

Cooperation

According to the Brazilian government’s statement, the US statement also disregards the “robust cooperation that already exists” between Brazil and the US in the fight against transnational organized crime.

Furthermore, “it is worth highlighting the proposal delivered in person by President Lula on May 7, 2026, in Washington, which details joint measures to combat money laundering, share intelligence, and combat arms trafficking. To date, Brazil is awaiting a possible response from the US government.”

Compliance

The statement from the Ministry of Justice notes that Brazil is not described in Trump’s document as a country that has “demonstrably failed” to comply with its international obligations to combat drugs based on US laws. This designation was applied to Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, and Venezuela.

Furthermore, Brazil does not appear on the list of major transit or production countries for illicit drugs. Those countries are Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

Brazil has developed a response and preparedness plan for public health emergencies linked to El Niño for 2026–2027 dubbed AdaptaSUS.

The plan comes as part of a wider federal initiative to address climate change, put together by 25 ministries with contributions from society and the business sector. Guidelines stress that the impacts of climate change on human health are becoming increasingly evident.

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“The main risk to health and healthcare services stemming from climate change is a potential increase in the incidence of disease and deaths, and in the demand for health services,” the text says.

The document was presented by the Ministry of Health on Wednesday (Aug. 26) at an assembly of the National Council of Health Secretaries in Brasília.

The ministry points out that climate change requires integrated responses that are sensitive to inequalities and guided by climate justice and equity, since communities facing socio-environmental vulnerabilities are disproportionately affected.

The plan

The initiative aims to establish strategies at the federal level within Brazil’s national healthcare network, the SUS, in order to reduce the impacts of climate change on people’s health and on health services, and to define guidelines for states and cities.

Preparation efforts are based on the creation on situation rooms for federal and internal governance; the provision of emergency pharmaceutical assistance resources and kits; the deployment of the SUS National Force, with regional bases capable of dispatching teams within 48 hours; and the implementation of technical protocols according to the needs of each of the six Brazilian biomes.

In the medium term, the initiative sets forth 27 goals and 93 actions to be implemented by 2035.

Among the actions related to water security in areas prone to drought and dry spells, the National Health Foundation procured 18,800 cisterns in 397 municipalities across seven states, with BRL 226.6 million allocated to sanitation improvement.

Tools

The strategy calls for the integration of the Ministry of Health’s official systems used for the early detection, reporting, monitoring, and investigation of outbreaks and other public health issues in Brazil.

Some of the tools used for climate monitoring focus on heat stress and populations exposed to air pollutants, and involve the National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts.

AdaptaSUS also relies on Health and Climate Information Centers – a pilot project implemented in eight cities across Brazil’s five regions.

In the Amazon, preparedness measures also include organizing the healthcare network and the infrastructure available to serve populations in hard-to-reach areas, including healthcare teams and riverine primary healthcare units.

The plan stipulates that the Ministry of Health also establish a panel of experts on climate and health, tasked with providing technical advice on decisions related to preparedness and response to the impacts of climate events.

Risks and effects

The health risks posed by climate change include deaths, injuries, an increase in diseases, disruptions to healthcare services, destruction of infrastructure, and even public health emergencies.

Among the main direct health effects are:

• diseases associated with temperature extremes;
• diseases caused by inadequate access to water, sanitation, and hygiene; vector-borne diseases and zoonoses;
• respiratory diseases;
• diseases associated with air pollution;
• injuries and deaths caused by extreme weather events;
• malnutrition and noncommunicable diseases, as well as mental and psycho-social health issues.

In addition to changes in disease patterns, climate change can also impact the healthcare system by increasing demand for healthcare services, triggering public health emergencies, and compromising or disrupting service delivery at healthcare facilities.

El Niño

In Brazil, the El Niño climate phenomenon is classified as “strong” through 2027 and could reach the “very strong” level as early as September this year. The critical window is expected to occur sometime between October of this year and March 2027.

The effects of the phenomenon vary by region:

• drought, dry spells, and wildfires in the North and Central-West;
• worsening drought and heat in the Northeast;
• more erratic weather, with heat waves and thunderstorms in the Southeast; and
• heavy rains, with a risk of flooding, in the South.

Brazil on Monday (Aug. 31) reiterated its dissatisfaction with the tariffs imposed by the United States and stated that Washington’s measures are discriminatory and incompatible with international trade rules.

This position was presented by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services Márcio Elias Rosa during a virtual meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

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In a joint statement, the ministries deemed the treatment of Brazil unfair and said that the justifications presented in the US investigations do not reflect actual Brazilian practices.

“Once again, [Ministers Mauro Vieira and Márcio Elias Rosa] pointed out that the justifications presented by the US government in the conclusions of the investigations conducted under Section 301 of the US Trade Act do not reflect actual Brazilian practices, and that the discriminatory treatment imposed on Brazil is unfair,” the two ministries emphasized in a joint statement.

Dialogue continues

Despite their differences, the two countries decided to continue negotiations. Technical meetings will be held in the coming weeks, either virtually or in person, followed by another ministerial meeting to assess progress.

The Brazilian government stated that it will continue to seek “a balanced and mutually beneficial agreement” with the United States, based on dialogue and respect for national sovereignty.

The resumption of talks follows a phone call between Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Donald Trump on August 21. During the call, Lula once again contested the tariffs, and Trump proposed resuming negotiations.

Brazil is subject to an additional 25 percent tariff imposed specifically by the US government and another 12.5 percent surcharge, which Washington justified on grounds related to combating forced labor.

The first measure was based on an investigation by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which pointed to alleged unfair trade practices by Brazil in areas such as electronic payments (Pix) and access to the ethanol market. The Brazilian government rejects these arguments and considers the measure unjustified.

The dispute is also unfolding amid growing economic competition between the United States and China for influence in Latin America, adding a geopolitical dimension to the negotiations between Brasília and Washington.