U.S.-Led Bloc Announces Joint Sanctions Plan Targeting 24 Criminal Groups

Overview

• The Escudo das Américas declaration, which named 24 groups on Tuesday, Sept. 22, commits 15 member states to pursue coordinated measures against gangs and cartels including Brazil’s PCC and CV.
• The joint text says governments intend to use asset freezes, visa and immigration restrictions, and criminal prosecution of people who knowingly provide material or logistical support to the listed groups.
• Signatories also pledged to expand intelligence sharing, security technology access and joint training while formally requesting an OAS consultative body under TIAR articles 6 and 13 to enable collective action.
• Brazil and Mexico are not members and Brazil has publicly rejected labeling its factions as terrorists, while experts warn that treating organized crime as terrorism may complicate law enforcement and legal justification.
• If enacted, the plan would widen reciprocal regional penalties and deepen diplomatic friction as the U.S.-led coalition relies on a Cold War‑era treaty that requires OAS procedures and political consensus to move from intent to action.