Gangs taking villages on Brazil-Peru border ‘hostage’, say Indigenous leaders
Indigenous leaders from the Brazil-Peru border are appealing to the Brazilian government for protection against organized crime groups. These criminal networks are infiltrating Indigenous territories to traffic drugs and destroy the Amazon rainforest.
Why it matters
The expansion of transnational crime into protected lands threatens both the safety of Indigenous communities and the ecological integrity of the Amazon.
Masked gunmen entered homes in the Brazilian village of Apiwtxa, within the Amazon Forest, earlier this month. Masked gunmen entered homes in the Brazilian village of Apiwtxa, within the Amazon Forest, earlier this month. Amazon rainforest Gangs taking villages on Brazil-Peru border ‘hostage’, say Indigenous leaders Delegation sent to Brasília after gunmen from organised crime group enter homes in western Amazon Forest
Prefer the Guardian on Google Indigenous leaders on the Brazil-Peru border say their communities are being “taken hostage” by organised crime groups who are running rampant across the region, destroying Amazon Forest, building roads and trafficking drugs.
Earlier this month, masked men armed with semi-automatic weapons entered homes in Apiwtxa, a village in the Kampa do Rio Amônia Indigenous Territory, intimidating people and searching for targets.
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