Comando Vermelho
Encyclopedia
Comando Vermelho is a Brazil
ian criminal organization founded in 1979 in the prison Cândido Mendes, on the Ilha Grande
island, Rio de Janeiro
, as a collection of ordinary convicts and left-wing political prisoners who were members of the Falange Vermelha (Red Phalanx), which fought the military dictatorship. During the entire 1990s the criminal organization was the strongest in all of Rio de Janeiro, but today the principal leaders have been arrested or are dead, and the organization is not as strong.
The Comando Vermelho still control parts of the city and seeing streets tagged with "CV" is common in many favelas in Rio de Janeiro. The principal rival gangs of the Comando Vermelho is the Terceiro Comando Puro (TCP, Pure Third Command) and Amigos dos Amigos
(ADA, Friends of Friends). The TCP emerged out of a power struggle amongst the leaders of Comando Vermelho during the mid-1980s.
In late June 2007, Rio de Janeiro police launched a large-scale assault on the area where up to 24 people were killed. According to a study by Rio de Janeiro University's Violence Research Center, in 2008 the group controlled 38.8% of the city's most violent areas, down from 53% in 2005.
, a form of Brazilian "booty music" derived from Miami Bass
. Due to the genre's popularity with young Brazilians, the group "is known to have subsidized funk parties to recruit young kids for drug dealing".
In addition to these funk parties (bailes funk), "where drugs and sex attract even bourgeois or petty-bourgeois youth" held regularly by the organization every Sunday, funk artists are also sponsored by the Comando Vermelho to record songs and even entire CDs that promote the group and eulogize the group's dead members. Because the Comando pays for the production and recording of the funk songs, they "are often well recorded and of a high technical quality, and are being played on pirate radio stations and sold by hundreds of street vendors in Rio de Janeiro
and in São Paulo
". Thus the funk artists that are in league with Comando Vermelho sometimes garner significant sales and airplay despite making a type of music that is Proibidão, or "extremely prohibited", in terms of where it can be sold and who can play it. In addition to promoting the crime group, the funk sponsored by the Comando also challenges the ideas and laws of the Division of the Repression Against Drugs.
made a documentary about the Red Command (CV). The film City of God shows the early beginnings of Comando Vermelho. The DVD release of this movie contains an extra documentary "News of a Private War" which features interviews with the police and local children from the favela
s (slums).
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian criminal organization founded in 1979 in the prison Cândido Mendes, on the Ilha Grande
Ilha Grande
Ilha Grande is an island located off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, and part of the municipality of Angra dos Reis. The island is largely undeveloped and noted for its scenic beauty, which includes tropical beaches, luxuriant vegetation and a rugged landscape. The land area is...
island, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, as a collection of ordinary convicts and left-wing political prisoners who were members of the Falange Vermelha (Red Phalanx), which fought the military dictatorship. During the entire 1990s the criminal organization was the strongest in all of Rio de Janeiro, but today the principal leaders have been arrested or are dead, and the organization is not as strong.
The Comando Vermelho still control parts of the city and seeing streets tagged with "CV" is common in many favelas in Rio de Janeiro. The principal rival gangs of the Comando Vermelho is the Terceiro Comando Puro (TCP, Pure Third Command) and Amigos dos Amigos
Amigos dos Amigos
Amigos dos Amigos is a criminal organization that operates in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. It was started up in 1998 when a member of Comando Vermelho was expelled from the organization for ordering the murder of another member. The gang's main rivals are Comando Vermelho and Terceiro...
(ADA, Friends of Friends). The TCP emerged out of a power struggle amongst the leaders of Comando Vermelho during the mid-1980s.
In late June 2007, Rio de Janeiro police launched a large-scale assault on the area where up to 24 people were killed. According to a study by Rio de Janeiro University's Violence Research Center, in 2008 the group controlled 38.8% of the city's most violent areas, down from 53% in 2005.
Comando Vermelho and Funk
The Comando is always looking to attract new Brazilian youth and bring them into their ranks. In addition to sponsoring groups like neighborhood associations and special interest clubs, and organizing sporting events, one of the most common ways in which the criminal organization is able to catch the youth's attention is through the popular musical style of funkFunk carioca
Funk carioca , favela funk and, elsewhere in the world, baile funk, is a type of dance music from Rio de Janeiro, derived from Miami bass....
, a form of Brazilian "booty music" derived from Miami Bass
Miami bass
Miami bass , is a type of hip hop music, that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Its roots are directly linked to the Electro-funk sound of the early 1980s, pioneered by Afrika Bambataa & The Soulsonic Force and later on by UK-based musician Paul Hardcastle...
. Due to the genre's popularity with young Brazilians, the group "is known to have subsidized funk parties to recruit young kids for drug dealing".
In addition to these funk parties (bailes funk), "where drugs and sex attract even bourgeois or petty-bourgeois youth" held regularly by the organization every Sunday, funk artists are also sponsored by the Comando Vermelho to record songs and even entire CDs that promote the group and eulogize the group's dead members. Because the Comando pays for the production and recording of the funk songs, they "are often well recorded and of a high technical quality, and are being played on pirate radio stations and sold by hundreds of street vendors in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
". Thus the funk artists that are in league with Comando Vermelho sometimes garner significant sales and airplay despite making a type of music that is Proibidão, or "extremely prohibited", in terms of where it can be sold and who can play it. In addition to promoting the crime group, the funk sponsored by the Comando also challenges the ideas and laws of the Division of the Repression Against Drugs.
Comando Vermelho in the News and Media
Ross KempRoss Kemp
Ross James Kemp is a BAFTA award-winning British actor, author and journalist, who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
made a documentary about the Red Command (CV). The film City of God shows the early beginnings of Comando Vermelho. The DVD release of this movie contains an extra documentary "News of a Private War" which features interviews with the police and local children from the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
s (slums).