Prison faction puts Ceará under attack

Since January 2, the state of Ceará has been under attack. Criminals have targeted police stations, banks, and public buildings in a series of acts in response to threats made by state authorities. Luís Mauro Albuquerque, secretary of penitentiary administration in Ceará and appointed by Workers’ Party governor Camilo Santana, said the state should not recognize criminal factions in the Ceará prison system.

Mr. Albuquerque promised to split up prisoners who are members of the same faction and adopt a harder stance on security measures in prisons in order to prevent cell phones from reaching the hands of inmates.

Ceará is the Brazilian state with the third-highest number of members of the notorious First Command of the Capital (PCC) crime gang. Born on October 31, 1993, the PCC, which would later become Brazil’s largest criminal empire, was created inside a penitentiary in a city close to São Paulo. Eight inmates got together to start a form of union for criminals, pushing back against what they...