Special Operations Command (Brazil)

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The Special Operations Command (Portuguese: Comando de Operações Especiais; COPESP) is an elite unit of the Brazilian Army, headquartered in Goiânia and subordinated to the Planalto Military Command and the Land Operations Command. It is a brigade-level unit adapted for guerrilla warfare and counterterrorism, forming part of the Strategic Rapid Action Force, capable of responding to both conventional and unconventional threats. Its two operational units are the 1st Special Forces Battalion and the 1st Commando Actions Battalion. Among its components, only the Special Operations Training Center, located in Niterói, is outside Goiânia. The 3rd Special Forces Company, based in Manaus, is subordinate to the Amazon Military Command. These components occasionally operate alongside the special forces of other Brazilian Armed Forces branches or police units, although there is no permanent joint command structure. The first Brazilian special operations course was established in 1957, and the first operational unit in 1968, both within the current Paratrooper Infantry Brigade. These units have historical ties to jungle warfare training and police special forces. The special forces and commandos studied counterinsurgency tactics within the context of the Cold War and the armed struggle against the Brazilian military dictatorship. This focus continued even after redemocratization. During the Araguaia Guerrilla campaign, they applied the principle that "guerrilla warfare is fought with guerrilla tactics". The Amazon region remains a key area of interest for special operations, with plans to use these forces for indirect action against conventional invaders by organizing resistance among the local population. Since the 1990s, special forces have also been employed in securing major events and combating organized crime in Rio de Janeiro. Special operations forces were expanded into a brigade in 2002 when terrorism risk became a public concern. In 2003, the brigade was relocated to Goiânia, in central Brazil, and its current designation...