SUMMARY

Brazil's most powerful criminal organizations Comando Vermelho and PCC dominated drug trade in the country and peaceful relations were maintained by a truce. Although the groups originated in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo respectively, their power reached nationwide. In late 2016, the truce was broken after 20 years which led to an eruption of violence between the factions and their allies. The factions fight for control over drug trade in the country and control over trade routes connecting to neighboring countries such as Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay. At first fighting was concentrated in prisons, however series of tit-for-tat attacks spurred further violence on the streets.

FDN (Família do Norte) allied with Comando Vermelho, and as Comando Vermelho-PCC alliance broke down in 2016, the FDN became part of this national conflict. PCC challenged FDN dominance in Amazonas state, intending to capture Solimões River route, an important smuggling route in the Upper Amazonas further connecting to Colombia and Peru. The fighting took place in Amazonas and Roraima states in northern Brazil, mainly in prisons in the states although fighting also spread to the streets. The battle between the factions to control the state's drug trade led to a series of assassinations, shoot-outs, and revenge killings. Some clashes were seen in late 2016, however, the big outbreak came in January 2017 when the started attacking each other in prisons, massacring inmates belonging to the rival group.

The non-state conflict between FDN and PCC is first included in UCDP data in 2017. On the first of January 2017 a prison riot broke out in a Manaus prison, leading to a massacre by FDN on PCC inmates which resulted in more than 25 battle-relate deaths.