The Guardians of the State (Brazilian Portuguese: ), or the acronym GDE, is a Brazilian criminal faction. It operates in the state of Ceará.
It is the 4th largest faction in Brazil and is made up mostly of poorly prepared teenagers, pre-teens and young adults.
The place or date of origin of the faction is not known for sure, as some sources claim that the faction emerged in mid-2012, others claim that it emerged in 2006,Análise do estabelecimento das facções criminosas no Ceará 2015, 2014 or 2016, but the most accepted is that it appeared in 2017, in the community of Conjunto Palmeiras.
Its internal power structure is decentralized, and therefore the faction lacks a leader. Currently, it is known for burning buses, massacres and homicides in the state, the most notable being the Cajazeiras massacre.
See also
List of criminal gangs in Brazil
References