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The Brazil Against Organized Crime Program, announced by the Minister of Justice and Public Security Wellington Lima, aims to elevate 138 state prisons to the maximum security standard of federal units. The strategy includes the so-called “airplane mode” operation, which will block cell phone signals within the facilities.
The federal government presented on Wednesday (13) a plan that intends to silence the communications of organized crime leaders from within the prison system itself. The central strategy involves placing 138 state prisons under maximum security standards and applying what the ministry calls “airplane mode”, a technological resource capable of blocking cell phone signals and preventing contacts between inmates and the outside world.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Wellington Lima, during the program Good Morning, Minister. The initiative is part of the Brazil Against Organized Crime Program, which has a total budget of R$ 1.06 billion for 2026 and includes four major action areas against criminal factions, including financial suffocation, prison system, homicide clarification, and combating arms trafficking.
How the “airplane mode” operation works in prisons
The term “airplane mode” was chosen precisely for its analogy with the smartphone function that disables all wireless connections. In the case of prison units, the goal is to extend this blockage to the entire perimeter of the facilities.
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“We will be raising the technological standard, training personnel, and instituting protocols for an absolute change in the profile of the prison system. This allows us to use the so-called airplane mode operation, with technology to extract cell phones and block communications within the perimeter of the units,” explained the minister.
The measure addresses an old problem of the Brazilian prison system: the clandestine entry of cell phones and the use of these devices by criminal leaders to coordinate attacks, order executions, and move financial resources from the cells. The suffocation of communication is seen as a key point to disrupt the command of the factions.
Why 138 prisons are sufficient to reach 80% of the leaders
The program’s numbers are surprising due to the apparent disproportion. The 138 selected units represent only about 10% of the total prisons in the country, but the expected impact is far from proportional.
The ministry presented a calculation that justifies the choice. These units house approximately 18.7% of the total prison population, but concentrate about 80% of the leaders of criminal organizations operating in Brazil.
The logic is strategic. Instead of trying to act simultaneously on more than 1,300 Brazilian prisons, the government concentrates resources and technology in the units where the main leaders are serving sentences. The bet is that isolating the commanders will disrupt the rest of the structure.
Budget of R$ 1.06 billion divided into four fronts
The Brazil Against Organized Crime Program has a direct allocation of R$ 1.06 billion for 2026. The resource was divided among four main axes of combating organized crime, as detailed by the ministry:
- Financial suffocation: R$ 388.9 million
- Prison system: R$ 330.6 million
- Clarification of homicides: R$ 201 million
- Combating arms trafficking: R$ 145.2 million
In addition to the direct investment, a credit line of R$ 10 billion was opened via BNDES, aimed at states and municipalities that want to invest in equipment, technology, and public security infrastructure.
The combination of direct federal resources and credit lines seeks to give a boost to federation units that have historically claimed a lack of budget to modernize their own penitentiary system.
How implementation will occur in the 27 states
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security informed that the implementation will be immediate and progressive. The 138 units are distributed across all 27 states of the federation, giving the program a national character.
Each selected unit will undergo two fronts of adaptation. The first involves personnel training, with the qualification of prison officers in the new security protocols. The second includes the installation of technological equipment, especially those related to communication blocking.
The stated goal is to align these state units with the same maximum security standard already applied in federal prisons, which house some of the main names in national organized crime. The federalization of the standard is presented by the government as a qualitative leap in Brazilian prison management.
The other axes of the Brazil Against Organized Crime Program
Although the “airplane mode” has gained immediate prominence, the program is not limited to the prison system. The largest individual allocation, of R$ 388.9 million, goes to the financial suffocation front, which involves asset blocking, money tracking, and combating money laundering.
The homicide clarification front receives R$ 201 million. The focus is to reduce impunity in cases of executions and deaths linked to faction activities, an area historically marked by low resolution rates.
Finally, the axis of combating arms trafficking has R$ 145.2 million. The initiative aims to tackle the entry of illegal weapons into the country and reduce the arsenal available to criminal organizations, a topic that has gained importance following recent Federal Police operations.
The technical challenges of signal blocking
The “airplane mode” operation involves mobile phone signal blocking technology, a resource that has already been tested in some Brazilian units with mixed results. The regulation of the use of these devices is handled by the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel).
The main challenge is to keep the blocking confined to the perimeter of the prison, without affecting neighboring communities. In previous attempts in other Brazilian cities, residents near prison units reported interference with their own cell phones, which led to legal and operational questions.
The technical details of how the government intends to overcome these difficulties were not presented in the minister’s interview. It will possibly be up to future tenders and protocols to define the standards of the equipment to be installed in the 138 selected units.
The Brazil Against Organized Crime Program comes into play at a time when the debate on public security is once again dominating the national agenda. The bet on the technological isolation of the main criminal leaders has the support of a large part of security experts, but also faces doubts about practical execution and respect for legal rights.
And you, what do you think about this strategy? Do you believe that silencing the communication of organized crime leaders is enough to disrupt the factions? Do you consider the investment of R$ 1.06 billion adequate for the size of the problem? Leave your comment, share your opinion, and tag someone who needs to follow this topic.
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