By Carolina Militão MD with information from CComSEx
The Armed Forces, in a joint operation with the Federal Police (PF) and the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), arrested 18 illegal miners in Yanomami territory (TY), last Thursday (20). At the time, the military removed the invaders from the site and transported them to the PF superintendence in Boa Vista, capital of Roraima.
In the community of Palimiu, five miners tried to break through the Army’s River Blockade and Control Post on the Uraricoera River, which controls the entry and exit of vessels. In the Rangel region, the action resulted in the arrest of 13 miners, in addition to the destruction of three boats, six engines, a motor pump, a lodge with a canteen, a quad bike and a camp.
To date, Ágata Fronteira Norte has made 49 arrests. The action is part of a joint effort coordinated by the Ministry of Defense, with 1,381 military personnel from the Armed Forces, as well as government agencies. The operation, which began on June 21, following Decree No. 11,575, employs 11 aircraft, a river patrol ship and three armored speedboats.
The performance of the Armed Forces in preventive and repressive actions, in the fight against cross-border and environmental crimes in the border area, including inland waters and the sea coast, is supported by Complementary Law No. 97, of June 9, 1999, and by Decree No. 8,903, of November 16, 2016.
Operation Homoxi – With a humanitarian bias, the Ágata Northern Border Joint Command is sending Armed Forces service members to the Homoxi region, in T&T, to restore security for the return of activities at the Basic Indigenous Health Unit (UBSI, per its Portuguese acronym).
The UBSI of Homoxi is the only one in the region, the unit that served about 700 indigenous people before being deactivated in 2021, due to attacks by miners, is being restructured to resume services.
Operation Homoxi has been taking place since June 11, in partnership with IBAMA, the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI), the Indigenous Health Secretariat and Public Security Agencies.
Other arrests
Another 13 miners were arrested in an action carried out by the Armed Forces in Rangel, another mining area. The detainees were transported by aircraft to the BABV, from where they were taken by the Federal Police (PF) to the Superintendence of the Institution. During the operation, three boats, six engines, a motor pump, a lodge with a canteen, a quad bike and a camp were destroyed.
Operation Ágata Fronteira Norte – Operation Ágata Fronteira Norte is a joint operation coordinated between Public Security Bodies, Agencies and Armed Forces established by Decree Nr 11405, of January 30, 2023, amended by Decree Nr 11575, of June 21, 2023.
Photos: Disclosure