McGovern Leads House Colleagues Urging Collaborative Approach to Combatting Transnational Crime

WASHINGTON-Today, Representative James P. McGovern, Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, led a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing concern over reports that the Administration is considering designating two Brazilian criminal groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). They warned such a move could undermine U.S.-Brazil relations and hinder effective strategies to combat transnational crime.

"We are concerned the Trump Administration's overuse and weaponization of Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designations without meeting the clear statutory threshold for terrorist activity could weaken efforts to thwart organized crime in our hemisphere," the lawmakers wrote, continuing, "Moreover, given the Administration's use of terrorist designations as a justification to commit extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, we are concerned by how the Administration may use such a designation."

The letter calls on the State Department to provide Congress with clear evidence before pursuing any designation and emphasized that counterterrorism tools must be used responsibly to protect Americans-and not to interfere in Brazil's internal affairs.

The lawmakers urged the Administration to prioritize diplomatic cooperation, law enforcement collaboration, and multilateral frameworks to address the root causes of organized crime.

The full text of the letter is available here.