Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, known as “Marcola,” is a Brazilian criminal who has been identified by Brazilian authorities and government publications as a leading figure in the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), an organized criminal group founded in São Paulo. His name became nationally prominent during the late 1990s and 2000s as the organization expanded its influence beyond the prison system. A federal government publication describes Marcola as a leader of the PCC and explains that his transfer to the Federal Penitentiary in Brasília was intended to isolate him from other members of the organization.
Marcola has been imprisoned since July 1999 and is serving sentences totaling more than 300 years, according to court reporting. His convictions include cases involving homicide, drug trafficking and robbery. The length of the combined sentences reflects multiple judicial proceedings rather than a single sentence.
His legal situation has continued to evolve. In December 2025, a São Paulo court declared the punishment extinguished in the so-called “175 defendants” case because the prosecution had become time-barred. The decision applied specifically to that proceeding and did not result in his release, because other convictions continue to keep him imprisoned.
In 2026, Marcola continued to be held at the Federal Penitentiary in Brasília. Brazilian authorities have historically used the federal prison system to isolate senior organized-crime figures and restrict their communication with criminal networks. The National Secretariat for Penal Policies confirmed his transfer within the federal prison system and described such transfers as security measures based on prison intelligence.
Marcola has also denied, in judicial proceedings, that he is the leader of the PCC, while authorities and academic publications have continued to identify him as a principal leader of the organization. This distinction is important when describing his role: his leadership status is an assessment attributed to authorities and researchers, while his imprisonment and criminal convictions are matters established through judicial proceedings.
His trajectory remains closely connected to the history of organized crime and Brazil’s prison system over the past three decades. Unlike fugitives whose whereabouts are unknown, Marcola remains in federal custody while serving sentences arising from multiple criminal convictions.
SOURCES
Secretaria Nacional de Políticas Penais — Ministério da Justiça
Transfer of Marcola within the Federal Prison System
CNN Brasil — 2025
Marcola’s 2025 judicial decision and prison status
CNN Brasil — 2026
Marcola and the history of the PCC
Revista Brasileira de Execução Penal
Study on Marcola and the Federal Prison System
Supremo Tribunal Federal
STF — Judicial proceedings involving Marcola
