SUMMARY

Comando da Paz (CP) and Bonde do Maluco (BDM) were two drug trafficking gangs created inside a jail in Salvador, Bahia state. CP was the elder of the two and throughout the early 2000s, the gang started spreading across the state. However, due to internal frictions concerning the loyalty of its members, the gang went through a weakening. This decline in the CP’s influence presented an opportunity for the growth and subsequent rise in power of BDM. Clashes, shootings and executions were frequent between the gangs, sometimes even forewarned through Whatsapp messages and threatening graffiti paintings on street walls. In neighborhoods such as Periperi, Fazenda Grande Retiro and São Caetano, the dispute over territory and drug trafficking severely disrupted the lives of the residents, many of whom were forced to relocate.,

Starting in 2020, Comando Vermelho exercised its power in Bahia through Comando da Paz. With the goal of gaining more ground in the state, the gang was absorbed into Comando Vermelho, and acted as a branch for the national gang.They were responsible for the trades done by CV in the state, while CV handed guns and drugs to CP, making them capable of fighting back BDM, heavily sponsored by PCC.

The non-state conflict between the BDM and the CP was first included in UCDP data in 2019, when clashes between the groups surpassed the 25 battle-related deaths threshold.