The Brazilian government and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand cooperation in the fight against organized crime. The agreement allocates up to USD 978 million in funding for technical and financial support for Brazil’s program against organized crime.

The investment will be directed toward improving homicide investigations, strengthening prison security, combating the financial networks of criminal organizations, and tackling the trafficking of weapons.

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The announcement was made on Wednesday (Aug. 5) during the 3rd Regional Summit of the Alliance for Security, Justice, and Development, held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security in Brasília.

During the meeting, it was reported that the demand from Latin American and Caribbean countries for public security funding surprised the IDB, leading it to increase the volume of financing allocated to projects combating violence and organized crime from USD 2.5 billion to USD 4 billion from 2026 to 2028.

According to IDB President Ilan Goldfajn, nearly 60 percent of the initiative’s three-year targets have been achieved in just one year. He attributed the increase in funding to strong demand from countries in the region, where public safety has become one of the governments’ top concerns.

Goldfajn noted that, although Latin America is home to about eight percent of the world’s population, it accounts for approximately 33 percent of the homicides recorded globally.

Defunding crime

Brazilian Minister of Justice Wellington César Lima e Silva advocated for expanded international cooperation and data exchange to combat transnational criminal organizations.

In his view, the fight against crime cannot be limited to the final manifestations of violence; efforts must also focus on dismantling the financial networks of criminal factions.

He noted that criminal structures have adapted to globalization, have begun to operate as networks, and use international financial systems to move funds quickly.

Interpol

The summit also marked Interpol’s entry into the Rapid Response Task Force Against Violence and Organized Crime, created to provide specialized technical assistance to countries facing crises or emergency threats.

Interpol Secretary-General Valdecy Urquiza stated that security, justice, and development must be addressed in an integrated manner and that the new partnership will expand the response capacity of countries in the region.

Alliance

Created to promote coordinated responses to security challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Alliance for Security, Justice, and Development brings together 23 member countries and 14 strategic partners.

The initiative seeks to boost investments and support policies designed to prevent violence, strengthen institutions, modernize justice systems, and combat illicit markets.

During the summit, Brazil assumed the group’s rotating presidency for the next 12 months.

On Tuesday (Aug. 4), the Federal District Civil Police launched Operation Interrupted Network against a group under investigation for discussing plans to carry out violent attacks during the 2026 election period.

According to the police, the suspects shared manuals on how to manufacture explosives. Messages analyzed during the investigation revealed repeated references to Brasília as the destination for a planned mobilization during the election period.

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The investigation also identified the sharing of manuals for manufacturing explosive devices.

In addition, the group discussed building break-ins, target selection, tactical training, interstate recruitment, map analysis, and the sharing of architectural floor plans and three-dimensional models of buildings in the central area of the country’s capital.

The operation targeted eight suspects, aged 19 to 31, in the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Pernambuco, and Rio Grande do Sul.

With the support of investigators from these states, the probe aims to clarify the group’s level of organization and the stage of development of the planned actions.

Precautionary measures were adopted to preserve digital and physical evidence, seize electronic devices, identify possible unknown connections, and gather additional evidence to advance the investigation.

The investigation is examining possible offenses, in theory, including criminal association, incitement to commit a crime, glorification of a crime or criminal, and offenses provided for under anti-racism legislation.

The police reported that the facts have not yet been classified under the Anti-Terrorism Law, but that the investigation is continuing to identify the perpetrators, establish the material elements, and determine the circumstances of possible criminal offenses.

Elections

The first round of the Brazilian elections will take place on October 3. Voters will elect the president, governors of the states and the Federal District, senators, and federal, state, and district representatives.

China has taken another step toward expanding the entry of Brazilian products into its market by providing the necessary procedures for exporting frozen fruit and fruit pulp produced in Brazil.

The measure allows interested Brazilian companies to begin the authorization process to sell these products to China.

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According to the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, the General Administration of Customs of China has incorporated into its system the health certificate template that will be required for Brazilian exports of frozen fruit and fruit pulp.

“As a result, interested businesses can now apply for registration through the China Import Food Enterprise Registration system, a mandatory step for accessing the Chinese market,” the ministry reported.

The authorization applies to products derived from fruit species already recognized as food by Chinese authorities. These include açaí, mango, guava, pineapple, and passion fruit, as well as other fruits permitted for human consumption in China.

Under Chinese regulations, fruits that have not yet been recognized as food remain subject to specific regulatory procedures outlined in local legislation governing novel foods.

Guidelines

Registration in the Chinese system must be completed directly by the exporting company, which is responsible for submitting the required documentation.

After review and approval by the Chinese authorities, the company receives a registration number, which is required to ship goods to the Asian country.

Exports must also be accompanied by the official health certificate agreed upon between Brazil and China.

Before beginning the registration process, the Ministry of Agriculture advises exporters to review the requirements and procedures established by the Chinese authorities.

Once China’s General Administration of Customs has approved the registration and the competent Brazilian authority has issued the certificate, sales may proceed as per the applicable requirements.

Brazilian exports reached an all-time high in June, contributing to an improvement in the country’s external accounts.

According to statistics released on Tuesday (Jul. 28) by Brazil’s Central Bank, the current account deficit stood at USD 2.3 billion in June, less than half the USD 5.2 billion deficit recorded in June 2025.

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The reduction in the deficit was driven mainly by the performance of the trade balance. The trade surplus reached USD 8.8 billion in June this year, compared with USD 5.2 billion in the same month last year.

On a year-over-year basis, the trade surplus increased by USD 3.6 billion.

Exports of goods totaled USD 36.4 billion, the highest figure in the Central Bank’s historical series. This result represents a 24.8 percent increase compared with June 2025. Imports also rose, reaching USD 27.6 billion, a 15.3 percent increase over the same period.

Despite the improvement in the trade balance, the services account deficit increased by USD 0.7 billion compared with June last year, totaling USD 5.1 billion.

The result was primarily influenced by higher net expenditures on international travel, transportation, and telecommunications, computing, and information services.

In the 12-month period ending in June, the current account deficit totaled USD 61.4 billion, equivalent to 2.46 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). In June 2025, the cumulative deficit stood at USD 75.5 billion, or 3.52 percent of GDP.

Investments

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country recorded net inflows of USD 9.1 billion in June, compared with USD 3.1 billion in the same month last year. Over the 12-month period, cumulative FDI reached USD 89.3 billion, equivalent to 3.58 percent of GDP.

Portfolio investments, meanwhile, recorded a net outflow of USD 0.6 billion in the month. There was a net withdrawal of USD 2.2 billion from stocks and investment funds, partially offset by inflows of USD 1.6 billion into domestic securities.

Reserves

International reserves closed June at USD 367.6 billion, a decrease of USD 3.6 billion compared with May. According to the Central Bank, exchange rate fluctuations among the currencies that make up the reserves, as well as dollar sales in the spot market, contributed to the decline.

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court has scheduled a second meeting for August 17 with ambassadors, diplomatic representatives, and international organizations to explain how Brazil’s electronic voting machines work, as well as the country’s electoral system.

The meeting should take place at the court headquarters and will continue efforts to promote transparency toward the international community.

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In it, the president of the court, Judge Kássio Nunes Marques, will once again explain how electronic voting machines operate.

This statement came after Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate, adopted the same strategy as his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, of spreading false information about electronic voting machines to ambassadors from other countries, raising questions about the reliability of the Brazilian electoral system.

Fake news

Without presenting any evidence, Flávio Bolsonaro claimed that many of the machines used in Brazilian elections were supplied by Smartmatic, a company linked to the Venezuelan electoral system.

In response to the statements, the Electoral Court has publicly reaffirmed that Smartmatic did not supply voting machines or develop software for Brazilian elections.

The court reiterated that the voting machines were designed by court officials and manufactured by companies contracted through a public bidding process, noting that the link between Smartmatic and the Brazilian voting system has been debunked several times in recent years.

Critics and experts viewed the incident as a revival of the strategy adopted by former President Jair Bolsonaro, who repeatedly questioned the security of electronic voting machines and, in 2022, convened ambassadors to present allegations that were later deemed unfounded by the Electoral Court.

In a statement, the Superior Electoral Court announced that the Brazilian elections will be monitored by numerous international observers. Among them are the European Union, the Organization of American States (OAS), Parlasul, the Carter Center, Uniore, and ROJAE-CPLP. All will be part of the Electoral Observer Mission to monitor the October election.