A Model Indigenous Territory in Brazil's Amazon Seeks Protection From Criminal Gangs
Leaders say armed men threatened families and searched for local chiefs as Red Command-linked trafficking routes expand through Indigenous land.
- Earlier this month, armed men invaded Kampa Indigenous territory along the Amonia River, threatening families and searching for Ashaninka leaders. This escalation marks a dangerous shift for the community.
- The Solimoes River route, a primary cocaine corridor from Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia to Atlantic ports, has expanded into remote Indigenous lands. Criminal organizations exploit dense forest and lack of government oversight.
- Remote locations, lack of government oversight, and language barriers "make Indigenous peoples a vulnerable population and an attractive source of labor for criminal organizations," said Col. César Mello, a retired Amazonas state police officer.
- Francisco Piyáko, coordinator of the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Jurua River, filed a formal complaint with Acre state authorities, prompting security force deployment. Leaders warn such presence is usually temporary.
- Earlier this year, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino ordered the federal government to intensify efforts against Amazon criminal organizations. Despite this, Ashaninka leaders say state protection remains insufficient and fails to provide continuous security.
18 Articles
18 Articles
The Toronto Star
A model Indigenous territory in Brazil’s Amazon seeks protection from criminal gangs
SAO PAULO (AP) — The Ashaninka Indigenous people — who recovered their territory in the Brazilian border with Peru from settlers three decades ago, established and sustained their own governance, and grew crops while protecting the forest — have long…
Associated Press News
A model Indigenous territory in Brazil's Amazon seeks protection from criminal gangs
The Ashaninka Indigenous people, who reclaimed their territory on the Brazil-Peru border decades ago, now face threats from gangs and drug traffickers.
A delegation of four leaders of the Ashaninka people landed in Brasília on Thursday to fulfill an intense agenda of emergency meetings with the federal government, demanding a coordinated and binational response against the fulminant advance of transnational organized crime on the border between Brazil and Peru. The offensive occurs after a serious attack recorded on July 6, when heavily armed men invaded the Kampa Indigenous Land of the Amônia …
The Ashaninka indigenous people—who regained their territory on the Brazilian border with Peru from the hands of settlers three decades ago, established and sustains their own system of government, and cultivates food while protecting the forest—has long been a success story for communities across the Amazon. But now their way of life faces a violent threat.
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