The judge, Ivana David, has been working in the country's prison system for 30 years, which gave her a front row seat to the emergence of the PCC.
Its rise startled Brazil and beyond, but it is was not anomaly. In fact, it is part of a region-wide trend where prison-based criminal groups dominate the underworld in the Americas.
More about the PCC and our coverage on prisons and gangs at ⁠insightcrime.org