SUMMARY

FDN (Família do Norte/Family of the North) was formed in 2007 by drug traffickers José Roberto Fernandes Barbosa "Messi" and Gélson Lima Carnaúba "Mano G". The group emerged in prisons in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, and has become a powerful criminal organizations in Brazil.

The Amazon region is of great importance for drug trade in the country, as the majority of cocaine produced in Colombia and Peru enters Brazil through the Amazon. The remoteness of the region in combination with low presence of law enforcement make criminality rampant. FDN controlled one of the most important drug trafficking routes, the Solimões River route in the Upper Amazon connecting to Colombia and Peru, which secured their dominance in Amazonas state.

In 2015, FDN allied themselves with Comando Vermelho, one of Brazil's most powerful criminal organizations. Comando Vermelho had for years upheld peaceful relations with its main rival, PCC, until 2016 when their truce was broken, which led to an escalation of violence in the country. The groups and their allies battled for control over drug trafficking and trafficking routs. The new alliance caused enmity between FDN and PCC which resulted in an eruption of violence in Amazonas and Roraima states. The alliance between FDN and Comando Vermelho later broke down in 2018 as FDN leader Gélson Lima Carnaúba left FDN to join Comando Vermelho.

The FDN has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence.