Flávio Bolsonaro meets Bukele's justice minister, pledges to declare cartels terrorist groups if elected

Brazilian senator and leading 2026 presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro met El Salvador's Minister of Justice and Public Security, Gustavo Villatoro, in São Paulo on 30 August 2026, ahead of Brazil's October election against President Lula. Bolsonaro said he left the meeting 'inspired' and pledged that, if elected, he would harden criminal legislation, declare organizations including the PCC and Comando Vermelho — already designated Specially Designated Global Terrorists by Washington in May 2026 — domestic terrorist groups, create a dedicated federal public security ministry, and build roughly 500,000 new prison spaces including five new federal prisons. He cited El Salvador's mano dura crackdown under coalition founding member Nayib Bukele as a model, citing a claimed 97% homicide reduction since 2018, without addressing Human Rights Watch allegations of mass arbitrary detention, torture and deaths in custody under El Salvador's ongoing state of exception. Bolsonaro's platform aligns with the Shield of the Americas coalition's hardline framing even though Brazil itself remains a coalition holdout.