The Ministry of Defense failed to respond to a request by the Federal Police for the Armed Forces to assist, at the end of July, in a complex action to remove invaders and cattle from an indigenous land in Pará.
The request to the ministry was for assistance in the logistics of the operation, with the assembly of temporary accommodation and beds for PF agents and the National Public Security Force, linked to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.
There was even a proposal that Defense would be reimbursed, through a budgetary reallocation, but there has been no cooperation on the part of the military so far, according to sources familiar with the operation carried out in the region of São Félix do Xingu (PA), about 1,000 kilometers from Bethlehem.
In a note, the Ministry of Defense said it had informed the PF about “possibility of support at a later date”. The ministry said it took into account the availability of financial resources and the “need for adequate preparation measures, as it is an isolated location without any support structure”.
“During the same period of support requested by the PF, the Armed Forces are assisting the Secretariat of Integrated Operations, of the Ministry of Justice, in actions in the Yanomami indigenous land, in Roraima. in the Amazon”, cites the note.
The absence of the Armed Forces in operations of this type, despite requests for help in logistics, became constant, especially the provision of aircraft for overflights and access to illegal mining areas.
Investigators who are in charge of inquiries into gold extraction in indigenous lands claim that the Armed Forces refuse to provide aircraft for actions that try to curb the advance of the logistical structure maintained by those who exploit the illegal activity.
An example of this are actions on Yanomami land, in Roraima, where 20,000 people, according to the estimate of indigenous associations, explore illegal mining supported by owners of aircraft and machines. There have already been refusals by the military to provide aircraft for inspection actions. The helicopter used by the PF is located in Manaus, 600 km from the territory.
The operation in Pará, to remove around a thousand squatters and 700 to 1,000 head of cattle attributed to land grabbers, has been carried out by the PF since the 24th. The action is still ongoing, given the difficulties in removing people and animals from the Trincheira/Bacajá land, where Kayapó and Xikrin indigenous people live.
The deintrusion occurs from an ongoing action in the STF (Supreme Federal Court). The action calls for the withdrawal of invaders in seven territories: Yanomami, Karipuna, Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, Arariboia, Mundurucu, Kayapó and Trincheira/Bacajá. The process is reported by Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, who has already given decisions favorable to the removal of intrusion.
In April, the PF presented a schedule to the STF to remove invaders from Mundurucu, Kayapó and Trincheira/Bacajá indigenous lands, in Pará. The forecast was that the actions would take place until June. The first only started on the 24th of July.
Report published by Sheet on July 5 it showed that the PF held off carrying out operations to combat environmental crimes in the Vale do Javari and Japurá River region, in Amazonas, and in the three indigenous lands in Pará.
The operations ended up being barred or postponed due to internal differences between PF managers. The police also alleges difficulties in logistics and articulation with other agencies to carry out the operations.
The action to remove squatters and cattle from Trincheira/Bracajá is the second of its kind carried out by the PF in the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government, according to the sources heard by the report.
The first took place on the same indigenous land, in November 2021. Access was closed, and people were asked to leave the invaded areas. Two bridges were destroyed. The cattle assigned to land grabbers remained.
In the new incursion into the territory, police officers found that the bridges were rebuilt, and that people returned to the invaded places.
The invasions take place within a context of land grabbing in the region, according to ongoing investigations by the PF.
Farmers use inappropriate areas for fattening cattle. In addition, land grabbers subdivide territories and sell pieces of land to poor families, according to investigations.
Given the great demand, and the lack of space in villages outside the indigenous land, the traditional territory ends up being invaded for illegal occupation, according to the police. Illegal loggers also operate in the region.
The PF and the National Public Security Force once again obstructed access to the invaded areas, allowing only the squatters to leave, without the possibility of new entries.
The biggest challenge became the removal of cattle from the indigenous land. The action to remove the animals is carried out by the PF, Força Nacional and Adepará (Agricultural Defense Agency of Pará). According to researchers, the cattle are not vaccinated. The PF has already identified three land grabbers who would be responsible for the animals.
The operation’s police officers make use of an ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation) base in the region. The expectation is that the action will last until the removal of the cattle placed on the indigenous land.
