Red Command: The Criminal Faction That Brazil’s State Helped Create

In this article, you’ll discover how misguided political decisions, abandonment of the prison system, and deliberate omission allowed a small gang to transform into a crime empire. Additionally, we’ll question: who are really responsible for this national tragedy? Prepare yourself for an uncomfortable but necessary analysis.

The Cradle of Crime: When the State Mixed Common Prisoners with Guerrillas

First of all, it’s essential to understand the absurd context that allowed this organization’s birth. During the military dictatorship, in one of the most incompetent decisions in Brazilian penitentiary history, the government decided to mix common prisoners with political guerrillas at Cândido Mendes prison.

Consequently, criminals without any ideology or organization began living daily with militants trained in revolutionary tactics. In this sense, guerrillas who had fought against the military regime, with knowledge of strategy, hierarchy, and discipline, ended up involuntarily “educating” common inmates.

Red Phalanx: A Name That Denounced Incompetence

Originally, the group adopted the name “Falange Vermelha” (Red Phalanx). On the other hand, this denomination wasn’t coincidence. In fact, it directly reflected the ideological influence of political prisoners on common criminals. Therefore, the name itself already denounced the stupidity of the adopted incarceration policy.

Moreover, it’s worth questioning: who in their right mind would imagine this mixture could work? Obviously, nobody thought about the consequences. Or worse: they simply didn’t care.

The Inhumane Conditions That Created a Monster

The Hell of Cândido Mendes

To understand how Red Command emerged, it’s impossible to ignore the degrading conditions of the prison system. First, Cândido Mendes prison was a true social time bomb. In this context, overcrowding, extreme violence, systematic torture, and absolute lack of perspective created the perfect environment for radicalization.

Consequently, when people are treated like animals, they tend to organize to survive. Therefore, the creation of a hierarchical structure among prisoners wasn’t choice, but necessity in the face of state abandonment.

The 1981 Massacre: The Day Everything Changed

Additionally, in 1981, two years after the group’s founding, a massacre occurred at the prison that would definitively consolidate the organization. In this sense, dozens of prisoners were brutally murdered in internal conflicts. On the other hand, the state simply watched passively.

Therefore, faced with governmental inertia, Comando Vermelho (as it became known) assumed internal control of prisons. That is, the state handed power to criminals on a silver platter. Consequently, this omission allowed the faction to establish its territorial dominance.

The Expansion: When Failure Became Epidemic

From Prison to Favelas

First, it’s important to understand that Red Command didn’t expand despite the state, but because of it. In this context, when criminals linked to the faction were released, they returned to communities completely abandoned by public authorities.

Consequently, in favelas without sanitation, education, health, or opportunities, the criminal organization offered what the state denied: protection, income, and sense of belonging. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the faction grew exponentially.

The Drug War and Political Omission

Additionally, in the 1980s and 1990s, drug trafficking exploded in Rio de Janeiro. On the other hand, while Red Command structured its criminal empire, successive governments pretended the problem didn’t exist. In this sense, public policies were either non-existent or completely misguided.

Therefore, decades of negligence allowed the faction to consolidate control over entire territories. Consequently, today we have areas where the state is practically non-existent and organized crime actually governs.

The Hypocritical Motto: “Peace, Justice and Freedom”

When Criminals Appropriate Values

Ironically, Red Command’s official motto is “Paz, Justiça e Liberdade” (Peace, Justice and Freedom). On one hand, it sounds absolutely ridiculous that an organization responsible for thousands of deaths adopts such discourse. On the other hand, this contradiction reveals something disturbing about our society.

In this sense, when criminals manage to appropriate concepts like justice and freedom, it means the state failed so miserably to provide them that even bandits can capitalize on this absence. Therefore, this hypocrisy is actually a mirror of state failure.

The Persistent Ideological Influence

Moreover, it’s important to note how the guerrillas’ influence remained in the organization’s structure. For example, concepts like “hierarchy,” “discipline,” and even the discourse of “oppression” were incorporated into the faction’s culture.

Consequently, what was born as simple criminal association evolved into an almost-ideology. Therefore, the incompetence of mixing political prisoners with common ones generated consequences that persist today.

The Prison System: A Criminal Factory

Numbers That Shame Brazil

Currently, Brazil has the world’s third-largest prison population. Additionally, our prisons operate with occupancy rates exceeding 170% of capacity. Consequently, current conditions are as bad as – or worse than – those of 1979.

Therefore, we’ve learned absolutely nothing from history. In this sense, we continue creating perfect conditions for factions to multiply and recruit new members. That is, the vicious cycle persists through pure incompetence and political omission.

Recidivism: The Certificate of Failure

Moreover, the criminal recidivism rate in Brazil exceeds 70%. In other words, out of every ten people who enter the prison system, seven return to commit crimes. Consequently, our prisons don’t rehabilitate – they radicalize and connect criminals.

Therefore, each inmate who enters disorganized can leave as a member of a structured faction. That is, the Brazilian state literally trains and organizes criminals at taxpayer expense.

National and International Expansion: Exporting Failure

From Rio to Brazil

First, Red Command wasn’t restricted to Rio de Janeiro. In fact, the faction expanded to practically all Brazilian states. In this sense, today it operates from Acre to Rio Grande do Sul, always taking advantage of the same structural failures.

Consequently, wherever state abandonment, extreme inequality, and failed prison systems exist, CV finds fertile ground. Therefore, its expansion is literally a map of Brazilian administrative incompetence.

International Operations: When the Problem Becomes Global Shame

Additionally, the faction already operates in neighboring countries like Paraguay, Bolivia, and even in Europe. For example, investigations revealed Red Command cells operating in international drug and arms trafficking. Consequently, what was an internal problem became exported shame.

Therefore, decades of Brazilian negligence now affect other countries. That is, our incompetence no longer has borders.

Suspicious Political Alliances

When Crime and Politics Mix

On the other hand, we cannot ignore recurring complaints about connections between politicians and criminal factions. In this context, there are numerous investigated cases of candidates receiving support from organizations like Red Command in exchange for favors.

Consequently, the uncomfortable question arises: to what extent is the perpetuation of this failed system convenient for certain political groups? Therefore, is incompetence really incompetence, or is there interest in maintaining the status quo?

Elections in Dominated Areas

Moreover, it’s notorious that in some faction-controlled regions, electoral results show suspicious patterns. In this sense, there are reports of residents being coerced to vote for certain candidates. On the other hand, authorities frequently ignore these complaints.

Therefore, we have situations where organized crime not only controls territory but also influences elections. Consequently, local democracy becomes completely compromised while authorities pretend not to see.

The Human Cost: Lives Destroyed by Omission

The Forgotten Victims

First, it’s essential to remember that behind statistics are real destroyed lives. In this context, entire families lost loved ones to violence generated by organized crime. Additionally, entire communities live under constant terror.

Consequently, thousands of children grow up in environments dominated by criminality, without perspective or hope. Therefore, each lost life testifies to the collective failure of generations of irresponsible politicians.

Recruited Youth: The Stolen Future

Moreover, the faction systematically recruits adolescents in poor communities. In this sense, it offers what the state should guarantee: income, protection, and sense of belonging. On the other hand, these children are quickly discarded – killed or imprisoned while still young.

Therefore, we have entire generations being literally decimated while politicians speechify about “tough on crime” without attacking structural causes. Consequently, the cycle perpetuates indefinitely.

Ignored Solutions: When Incompetence Becomes Choice

What Works and Why It’s Not Done

First, there’s no shortage of international examples of countries that faced similar problems and succeeded. For example, Colombia and El Salvador implemented policies that, despite being controversial, drastically reduced faction power.

On the other hand, Brazil systematically ignores these experiences. In this sense, we continue repeating the same failed policies decade after decade. Consequently, it’s impossible not to question: is there real political will to solve the problem?

Investment in Prevention: The Obvious Solution Nobody Wants

Additionally, studies unequivocally demonstrate that investing in education, health, and opportunities in vulnerable communities is infinitely more effective than isolated police repression. However, these preventive policies require long-term investment and don’t generate immediate headlines.

Therefore, politicians prefer demagogic speeches about “fighting crime” while cutting education and health budgets. Consequently, they perpetuate exactly the conditions that feed organized crime.

Prison Reform: The Ignored Urgency

The Current Model That Only Makes Everything Worse

Currently, the Brazilian prison system is universally recognized as failed. In this context, overcrowding, torture, lack of legal assistance, and absence of rehabilitation programs are the norm, not the exception.

Consequently, prisons continue being crime universities, where young people who committed minor offenses leave as professional criminals linked to factions. Therefore, every real invested in the current system is money thrown away – or worse, invested in training bandits.

Penal Alternatives: The Necessary Taboo

Additionally, we need to seriously discuss alternatives to mass incarceration. For example, alternative sentences, electronic monitoring, and social reintegration programs demonstrate much superior results for non-violent crimes.

However, any discussion in this direction is immediately labeled as “defending criminals.” Consequently, rational debate is replaced by demagoguery, and nothing changes. Therefore, prisoners of simplistic narratives, we allow the problem to worsen indefinitely.

Society’s Responsibility

When We’re All Accomplices

On the other hand, it would be dishonest to place all blame only on politicians. In fact, a significant part of Brazilian society also shares responsibility for this failure. In this sense, how many times have we elected candidates with empty speeches about security, ignoring serious and structural proposals?

Moreover, our indifference toward the prison population and residents of poor communities contributes to perpetuating the problem. Consequently, as long as violence doesn’t knock on our door, we prefer to ignore that millions live under organized crime’s dominion.

The Comfort of Illusion

Furthermore, there’s certain comfort in believing the problem is solved with “more police” or “jail for everyone.” Therefore, we embrace simplistic solutions that exempt us from thinking about structural causes and our own complicity through omission and indifference.

Consequently, successive generations repeat the same mistakes, expecting different results. That is, collectively, we demonstrate the same incompetence we criticize in our rulers.

Conclusion: A Persistent Announced Tragedy

In summary, Red Command isn’t just a criminal organization – it’s the certificate of Brazilian state bankruptcy. First, it was born from a stupid political decision during dictatorship. Subsequently, it grew fed by decades of abandonment, negligence, and misguided policies.

Consequently, today we face a monster we ourselves created and continue feeding. On the other hand, we have all the necessary tools and knowledge to solve the problem. Therefore, the persistence of this tragedy is no longer incompetence – it’s choice.

Moreover, as long as we continue electing demagogic politicians, ignoring vulnerable communities, and maintaining a medieval prison system, Red Command and other factions will continue prospering. That is, we can blame criminals, but the real responsible parties are all of us.

What about you? Will you keep believing in magic solutions and empty speeches? Or are you willing to demand real structural changes, even if they’re unpopular or take time? Because one thing is certain: the way things are, they’ll only get worse.

Want to understand more about Brazilian public security system failures? Keep following analyses that aren’t afraid to point out the real responsible parties. After all, only truth, however uncomfortable, can generate real change!