Authorities from the Civil Police of Baixada Santista believe that the death of Cristiano Lopes da Costa, also known as Meia Folha, may be linked to the split at the top of the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC). The man, identified as one of the leaders of drug trafficking in Guarujá, was shot on Tuesday night (12/03) in a snack bar in Vicente de Carvalho. Witnesses say the shots were fired by a man who passed by the place on a motorcycle.
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Curfew
Residents of Baixada Santista report an alleged curfew in the region after Meia Folha’s death. According to them, businesses closed earlier, and app drivers were instructed to stop driving. In Santos, at least two buses were set on fire. Public transport was suspended in several neighborhoods.
Second death
Meia Folha’s death is the second in less than 20 days attributed to the split in the faction. On the 25 February, Donizete Apolinário da Silva was shot dead in Mauá, in Greater São Paulo. The 55-year-old man was seen as an ally of the PCC’s supreme leader, Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, known as Marcola, and a member of the so-called “Final Tuning”, the faction’s top leadership.
Main reason
The main reason for the split in the faction would be the leak of a dialogue between Marcola and federal police officers, at the Federal Penitentiary of Porto Velho (RO). At the time, the PCC leader stated that number 2 in the faction’s hierarchy, Roberto Soriano, known as Tiriça, was a “psychopath”.
The statement was used by prosecutors during Roberto Soriano’s trial. The criminal, who is currently serving his sentence at the Brasília Federal Penitentiary, along with Marcola and other PCC leaders, was sentenced to 31 years and 6 months in prison, in 2023, for being the person who ordered the murder of psychologist Melissa de Almeida Araújo.
Analysis:
With the leadership of the First Command of the Capital (PCC) involved in internal conflicts, concern is increasing about the possibility of the emergence of a new criminal faction. Former allies of Marcola, the organization’s main leader, have now become his adversaries, creating a scenario of instability within the group.
According to experts, the main focus of attention falls on the issue involved in the eventual creation of a new faction in São Paulo, which would imply a confrontation between a new faction and the main criminal organization in the state. Such a conflict would be notably more challenging than in any other location or circumstance.
The PCC holds significant territorial dominance, exercising hegemony not only in São Paulo but also extending its influence to the borders of Latin American countries, which could hinder the emergence of a new criminal group.
The criminal model established by the PCC over the last 30 years is characterized by a solid structure, difficult to fragment by personal disputes. Furthermore, the organization has developed a complex franchise system in which its members, many recruited from the country’s prisons, form local groups that operate both inside and outside the prison system.
One of the CCP’s main strengths lies in the strong sense of unity among its members and a strict code of conduct that prevails over any dissent or individual desire. The PCC is recognized as the largest criminal faction in the country, with estimates from the Public Ministry pointing to around 33,000 members currently, although other studies suggest an even higher number, around 40,000 members.
Still, the internal fight is unlikely to destabilize the structure of Brazil’s largest criminal gang.
Source: Estadão; Metrópoles; Insight crime.
