Leader in deforestation last year, the Sararé Indigenous Land (TI), in Mato Grosso, faces the return of miners even after being the target of an operation during the second half of the year to combat the illegal practice in the region, show letters from Funai sent to the federal government during the months of October and December. The presence of criminal factions, such as the Red Command (CV), and the risk of intensification of territorial conflicts, as well as the formation of militias, are also mentioned in the documents obtained by GLOBO.
- Tragedy at Christmas: Bus accident inside SP leaves two dead, 41 injured
- Sao Paulo: Police search for man who used personal watercraft to rob and attack beachgoers in São Vicente
The most recent letter was sent in early December by the National Secretary for Indigenous Territorial Rights, Marcos Kaingang. In the document, he reports that Operation Xapiri, which took place between August and October, could not prevent the “massive” return of minors to the territory. According to Funai’s assessment, the rise in gold prices is leading to the return of illegal extractivists.
“The groups remain active and are rapidly reorganizing, maintaining intense logistical movement, including the transportation of fuel, supplies and materials for the construction of precarious structures, bars and brothels inside indigenous lands. There are traces of activities even at night,” wrote Kaingang, who lists homicides and massacres, clashes between miners and officials and attempts to incite indigenous people to hide weapons in villages, in addition to the circulation of weapons heavy weapons, such as guns and explosives.
On September 24 last year, four people died in a massacre sparked by a fight over control of an exploration area. The next day, three more people were murdered in similar circumstances. In another case a few months earlier, in May, two people were killed and four others shot.
“Intelligence agencies have recorded the advance of the criminal Comando Vermelho faction, in addition to factional conflicts to dominate illegal mineral extraction points in and around IT,” the letter said.
A previous letter already warned of the likely return of minors and criminals after the end of Operation Xapiri. Dated October 28, the document, signed by the president of Funai, Joenia Wapichana, and addressed to the Civil House, specifies that “the efforts were not sufficient to contain the illicit activities on site”.
According to Wapichana, the situation has even worsened in certain villages. In addition to grooming attempts, criminals began using access roads to indigenous people’s homes, in addition to threatening leaders.
The Red Command is also mentioned in this document. According to the president of Funai, the presence of this faction and others “provoked reactions of resistance among the miners, leading them to hire armed security guards, in a structure similar to the militias”. Quoted in the letter, Abin estimates that there are around ten rifles in just one of the mines under CV control.
The presence of organized crime in the region would have led to a process of “Mexicanization” of indigenous lands, according to an unidentified delegate of the Federal Police mentioned in the letter. The phrase refers to the problems faced by regions living under the control of drug cartels in the Latin American country.
Contacted, the Ministry of Justice informed that in response to the request of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, it had authorized the use of the National Public Security Force in support of Funai in the Indigenous Territory of Sararé “to carry out activities and services essential to the preservation of public order, the security of people and property”. According to the ministry, the National Force maintains permanent personnel in the region. Funai and the Civil House have not returned contact for the report.
About The Author
