Cooperation and Conflict: The case of mixed transnational cocaine trafficking operations linked to the First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital or PCC).

Abstract

In this article, we analyze the transformation of the illicit cocaine trafficking chain, from its Andean origins to its consolidation as a global network, with special emphasis on the role played by Brazil's First Capital Command faction (Primeiro Comando da Capital or PCC).1. The central argument that we develop in this paper is that in the framework of the mixed operations linked to the PCC, in a dynamic context of internationalization of the cocaine trafficking economy, general or static forms of regulation were not configured, but rather a customary and rational intervention. This model not only made it possible to optimize cooperation and logistical efficiency, but also provided predictability to operations, prioritizing these factors over rigid hierarchies and traditional logics of capitalist accumulation. In addition, we identified that the faction managed to significantly reduce the violent confrontations that marked previous stages of its history, orienting itself towards a strategy of consolidation of points and safe passages, based on discretion and operational effectiveness, as distinctive elements of this new phase. From a multi-situated ethnographic approach, we examine how, while Brazil became a key territory for brokerage and logistics of transnational cocaine trafficking, the PCC's growing influence as a regulatory actor within this South American cocaine trafficking economy took place. From a methodological point of view, our research combines text mining techniques, analysis of police operations, observations on strategic infrastructures in South America, Europe and Africa, previous academic debates, as well as interviews with key actors.