SUMMARY

Comando Classe A (Class A Command) was one of the biggest criminal organizations in Pará state, in northern Brazil. Although it was unclear when the group was formed, reports of its actions go back as far as 2016.

Pará state’s location and geography, with many navigable rivers, and due to its bordering of neighboring states such as Amazonas made the state crucial for international drug trading. It was called ‘Rota do Solimões’, a route used to transport cocaine produced in Andean countries like Bolivia, Colombia, through rivers like the Solimões and Negro to cities in the northern region of Brazil. From these cities, the cocaine was taken to the capitals of the southeast region or exported to Europe. The Solimões Route was an alternative Andean cocaine trafficking option to the main route that passes through Brazil on the border with Paraguay. That, added to a lack of government presence and authority thus made the city of Altamira a perfect scenario for the emergence of criminal organizations that sought to control the routes that passed through it.

The city was split into different gangs that competed with each other. However, Comando Classe A undertook a more strategic posture when dealing with its local rivals. It did so by acting as moderator between the existing criminal organizations, settling disputes aiming at a further unification. Comando Classe A. Such strategy paid off, having allowed Comando Classe A to emerge as one of the main criminal groups in the state of Pará. Yet, it also allowed it to organize the drug market in the municipality of Altamira, as well as the transportation of drugs to other regions inside and outside Pará state.

The Comando Classe A has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence.