Terceiro Comando Puro (Pure Third Command) is a Brazilian

criminal organization In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

that split off from the

Terceiro Comando Terceiro Comando (Portuguese for ''Third Command'') was a Brazilian criminal organization engaged in drug trafficking in Rio de Janeiro. It was founded in the early 1980s and is a break-away faction of the Comando Vermelho. The ''Terceiro Comand ...

(TC) in 2002 due to disputes about TC's affiliations with the ''

Amigos dos Amigos Amigos dos Amigos (ADA, ''Friends of Friends'') 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 mur ...

'' gang. TC weakened while TCP strengthened and eventually absorbed its parent group's members. TCP is primarily involved with drug trafficking. The faction continues to operate against the

Comando Vermelho Comando Vermelho (, ''Red Command'' or ''Red Commando''), also known as CV, is a Brazilian criminal organization engaged primarily in drug trafficking, arms trafficking, protection racketeering, kidnapping-for-ransom, hijacking of armored tru ...

in regions outside Rio de Janeiro, including the

Brazilian states The federative units of Brazil () are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation, and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which together form the Federative Repu ...

of Amazonas,

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

, and

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, and in

Vitória, Espírito Santo Vitória (; ) is the capital of the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. It is located on a small island within a bay where a number of rivers meet the sea. It was founded in 1551. The city proper is and has a population of 322,869 (2022), whilst ...

Leadership

As of 2024, there are currently 5 major leaders, 2 of which are currently incarcerated. Thiago da Silva Folly, who is known as "TH", is in charge of drug trafficking in the Maré neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. The which is a group of

favelas Favela () is an hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in the Morro da Providência, Slum of Providência in the center of Rio de J ...

in the neighborhoods of

Parada de Lucas Parada de Lucas is a lower-class neighbourhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies b ...

Vigário Geral Vigário Geral is a neighborhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro with a large ''favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in th ...

, , Cinco Bosas, Pica-Pau is controlled by , who is known as "Peixão" ("Big Fish"). Bruno da Silva Loureiro, who is known as "Coronel" ("Colonel"), operates in western Rio de Janeiro. There are 2 leaders who are currently serving prison sentences Marcelo Santos das Dores, who is known as "Menor P" ("Minor P"), and Rafael Alves, who is known as "Peixe" ("Fish"), who is in charge of drug trafficking in

Vila Aliança Vila Aliança is a region of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São ...

Usage of Evangelical Christian aesthetics

Terceiro Comando Puro has adopted, at least nominally, the same

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

Charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

that has been growing among residents of the Brazilian

, including the idea that the existence of the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

will help bring about the

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christianity, Christian and Islam, Islamic belief that Jesus, Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his Ascension of Jesus, ascension to Heaven (Christianity), Heav ...

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. Terceiro Comando Puro gave the name of "Complexo de Israel" (Israel Complex) to the group of five favelas in northern Rio de Janeiro that it controls, and drug packages marked with the

Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

have been confiscated from the gang by Brazilian police. Additionally, the gang has persecuted adherents of the

Afro-Brazilian religions African diaspora religions, also described as Afro-American religions, are a number of related beliefs that developed in the Americas in various areas of the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Southern United States. They derive from traditional ...

and

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

References

{{Organized crime groups in America Drug cartels in Brazil Organized crime groups in Brazil 2002 establishments in Brazil Terrorism in Brazil

Leadership

Usage of Evangelical Christian aesthetics

See also

References