Brazil may soon become a partner in the U.S.-led Shield of the Americas initiative, a coalition aimed at expanding security cooperation to combat drug cartels across the Western Hemisphere. This potential collaboration hinges on the outcome of Brazil's Oct. 25 runoff election, where presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro is competing against incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, brother of Flávio Bolsonaro and a Brazilian politician, told Fox News Digital that if his brother wins, Brazil would align with the U.S. effort. "The main thing that we need to do is fight the cartels," Eduardo Bolsonaro stated. "They work together in a lot of countries, so we should fight back then."
Under the current administration of President Lula da Silva, Brazil has not joined the Shield of the Americas. However, Flávio Bolsonaro has expressed a desire for closer security cooperation with the United States and other conservative governments in the region.
"So I’m sure that, under the leadership of President Trump and the Shield of the Americas, we have the opportunity for the first time" to work together against the cartels, Eduardo Bolsonaro said.
The Shield of the Americas initiative focuses on intelligence sharing, military coordination, and joint efforts to disrupt cartel financing. The coalition follows actions taken by the Trump administration, including the designation of eight major criminal organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists in February 2025. These groups include Tren de Aragua, MS-13, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Carteles Unidos.
If Brazil joins, it would expand the coalition's presence in South America, a region where criminal groups like Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho are significant players in the drug trade. Other countries participating in the U.S.-led effort include Argentina, El Salvador, and Peru, with support also coming from Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, and Chile.
The broader objectives of the coalition include combating drug trafficking, disrupting criminal financial networks, and enhancing cooperation among law enforcement and military officials. U.S. officials have frequently linked cartel activities to the trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the United States, with some lawmakers attributing hundreds of thousands of American deaths to cartel-related drug overdoses.