Comment by matheusmoreira

It's difficult for me to provide sources because almost everything I've read about these gangs is in portuguese.

English Wikipedia has surprisingly detailed and well referenced articles on these organizations:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primeiro_Comando_da_Capital

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comando_Vermelho

> Individuals that fail to comply with the group's "discipline" are judged by the "crime courts", with sentences that can range from beatings to summary executions.

> Rather than expanding by territorial conquest alone, the PCC is able to develop its illicit activities more efficiently by focusing on the regulation and control of markets combined with a monopoly on violence and discipline.

Pretty much a parallel state.

Just yesterday I was reading about how the drug gangs killed some electricians tasked with shutting off the electricty of a gang member for lack of payment. Another gang launched their own ISP which they forced their subjects to pay for and use, our FCC equivalent ANATEL was trying to disconnect them.

"Undeclared secession" is just my interpretation of the situation. They dominate territories to the point brazilian police cannot freely operate without significant risk of death. Without police, nobody can guarantee brazilian rights and enforce brazilian laws. Without rule of law, is it really brazilian territory? I think not.