The Trump administration will designate Brazil’s two largest criminal gangs as Foreign Terrorist Organizations effective this June, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Thursday. 

The department separately designated the two gangs—Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC)—as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), requiring financial institutions and other companies to block assets linked to the group. 

“CV and PCC are two of the most violent criminal organizations in Brazil,” Rubio said in a statement announcing the sanctions. “Together, they command thousands of members and have orchestrated brutal attacks against Brazilian police officers, public officials, and civilians. Their influence and illicit networks extend far beyond Brazil’s borders, across our region and into our country.”

The criminal gangs like have over 50,000 members combined, with most of their international connections in Europe rather than North America, according to experts who spoke with the Associated Press. PCC’s primarily operates out of São Paulo while CV is in Rio de Janeiro, according to the AP, which also noted that the gangs are active throughout South America.

The PCC and the CV likely have more than 50,000 members combined, according to experts, who also say most of their connections are in Europe rather than in North America. Most of PCC’s operations are centered in metropolis Sao Paulo, while the CV is based in Rio de Janeiro. They have reach throughout South America.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva previously opposed the designations on the grounds that they could be used to justify U.S. military action or undue sanctions against Brazilian banks, according to Reuters. 

Celso Amorim, Lula’s top foreign policy adviser, reacted cautiously to the announcement, saying international cooperation on issues including money laundering and arms trafficking is welcome but warning that “using it as a pretext for intervention is unacceptable,” Reuters said.

The PCC and CV are rivals for trafficking routes and influence within Brazilian prisons, dominate the drug trade across much of Brazil and have expanded ties throughout Latin America, the news outlet noted.

The move follows lobbying from the Brazilian right. Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who is preparing a presidential run with the blessing of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, said he asked the U.S. to label the groups as terrorists during a meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington this week, Reuters reported.

Aides to the senator, who also met with Rubio, have flagged the issue as a way to raise the prominence of voter concerns about crime in the October presidential election and to play up his alignment with the Trump administration, the news agency reported.