How Local Political Support Gives Illegal Miners Carte Blanche in Brazil's Amazon
BRAZIL/
4 MAR 2022 BY CHRIS DALBY AND JUAN DIEGO CÁRDENAS
An alleged deal between government officials and illegal miners in Brazil’s Amazon led to the latter being provided with weapons in order to better secure their illicit earnings and fend off any challenges from local Indigenous communities.
According to a recent investigation by InfoAmazonia, the legislative assembly of Brazil’s northern state of Roraima, under the guidance of deputy Jalser Renier, sent a number of firearms to illegal gold miners along the Uraricoera River.
Furthermore, the investigators gained access to police documents that allegedly showed that Renier, along with a number of military officers, formed a “militia” between 2015 and 2020 which sold weapons to miners, kidnapped and tortured a journalist and embezzled public funds. Renier was first arrested in October 2021 for the suspected kidnapping of journalist Romano dos Anjos and was stripped of his status as state lawmaker on February 28. The current governor of Roraima, Antonio Denarium, even spoke with prosecutors to state that Renier had threatened to kill him if he did not squash the investigation.
The group maintained close relationships with the illegal mining community in Roraima, blamed of widespread environmental damage, deforestation of the Amazon and of deadly clashes with local Indigenous communities. In 2019, one army sergeant associated to the “militia” was arrested for carrying an illegal firearm and gold of unknown origin along a highway in Roraima.
More:
https://insightcrime.org/news/how-local-political-support-gives-illegal-miners-carte-blanche-in-brazils-amazon/