Federal teams come under fire while fighting logging on Indigenous land between Rondônia and Mato Grosso
No one was hurt in the operation in the Sete de Setembro Indigenous Territory, home of the Paiter Suruí people; a man was arrested in the act.
Translated from the Portuguese original by the Panorama newsroom. Read in Portuguese
Summary written by the Panorama newsroom from the sources listed below. Facts are attributed to the original publications.
A joint operation by the Federal Police, Ibama (the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and Funai (the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples) against clandestine logging ended under gunfire on Friday (6) in the Sete de Setembro Indigenous Territory, an area of the Paiter Suruí people between the states of Rondônia and Mato Grosso. According to Folha de S.Paulo, no agent was hit.
The shots came as the teams were withdrawing. The officers said they found the way back blocked by tree trunks, a common tactic to stop enforcement. The case is being investigated by the Federal Police.
Identified as a member of the scheme, a man was arrested in the act; his name was not released. He was charged with clearing or economically exploiting public forest without authorization, a crime punishable by two to four years in prison and a fine. Agents seized a chainsaw, two cell phones and a satellite internet antenna from him.
Ibama also destroyed a tractor and two motorcycles that supported the timber removal and rendered 14 logs unusable.
Because the area belongs to the federal government, removing timber without a license is a crime to be tried by the federal courts, according to the Federal Police. Folha adds that the territory also faces illegal mining and armed violence linked to invasions.