Manaus (AM) – How can the delivery of supplies and food baskets to isolated Yanomami villages in the Surucucu region of the Amazon be optimized? The solution found by the Army was to create an airfield there. The airstrip serves the 4th Special Border Platoon (4th PEF), located on the border with Venezuela.
In recent months, the platoon’s soldiers have been engaged in Operation Catrimani, a humanitarian aid mission to provide clinical and dental care, deliver supplies and food, and bring medical aid to the indigenous villages located in the Surucucu region, in the Yanomami Indigenous Land.
On the role of the 4th Special Border Platoon, the Chief of Staff of the Catrimani Joint Operational Command commented: “The logistical support of the 4th PEF in Surucucu has been of the utmost importance, especially for the distribution of the food baskets. After parachuting in the parcels of food baskets, these soldiers work intensively to collect and store the supplies, which are then distributed to the Yanomami communities in Armed Forces helicopters. I would like to highlight the professionalism and dedication of the troops involved in this process and in all the other activities of Operation Catrimani,” he concluded.
Around 3,000 Yanomami indigenous people live in the Surucucu Special Border Platoon region, spread over 19 communities. According to the Coordinator of the Yanomami and Ye’kuana Ethno-environmental Protection Front, the demand for assistance is increasing, with more villages seeking help.
Throughout Operation Catrimani, hundreds of soldiers from the Army, Navy and Air Force have already been mobilized in the platoon. The Commander of the 4th PEF described the situation: “We have contact with indigenous people all the time. They come to us to receive the humanitarian aid we provide in the region.”
Aircraft refueling point
The 4th PEF also provides the means for refueling the aircraft used for humanitarian aid. Two flexible fuel tanks with a capacity of 10,000 liters and motor pumps are positioned on the side of the runway to enable plotter refueling – the process that transfers fuel from the external tank to the aircraft. This logistical function is essential to keep the aircraft operating in isolated territory in the forest.
The Brazilian Air Force’s C-105 Amazonas, C-98 Caravan, H-36 Caracal and H-60L Black Hawk aircraft; the Brazilian Navy’s UH-15 Super Cougar; as well as the Brazilian Army’s HM-4 Jaguar and HM-1 Pantera are being used in Operation Catrimani.
Operation Catrimani
Since January 17, 2024, military personnel from the Brazilian Navy, Army and Air Force have been operating in the Yanomami Indigenous Land with the aim of bringing food baskets and promoting humanitarian actions, such as aeromedical evacuations. To date, the task force has logged more than 1,500 flight hours.
Fighting illegal mining
The Catrimani Joint Command also provides operational and logistical support to the Federal Police, the National Force and other agencies, such as the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI). At the beginning of March, the H-60 Black Hawk and HM-1 Pantera aircraft were deployed to take military personnel from the security agencies to Boa Vista (RR) to make 22 arrests of suspected illegal miners on the banks of the Uraricoera River. The neutralization of the illegal mining operation was coordinated by the Federal Police and resulted, in addition to the arrests, in the seizure of weapons, boats, supplies and fuel.
*** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***