Brazil Strengthens Military Presence in the Amazon, Reports Reuters

By Anthony Boadle and Ricardo Brito

BRASILIA – Increased border tensions regarding Guyana’s Esequibo region and the ongoing humanitarian crisis affecting the Yanomami Indigenous people have prompted Brazil’s military to augment its forces in the Amazon by 10%, according to the military commander for the region.

General Ricardo Costa Neves stated that the addition of 2,000 troops will enhance the army’s ability to patrol the 9,000 km border with neighboring countries, including Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. This area is notorious for drug trafficking, illegal mining, logging, and smuggling activities.

"They will reinforce our operations in this vast area to help combat border and environmental crimes," the four-star general mentioned during a rare media interview.

The conflict arising from Venezuela’s claims over the oil-rich Esequibo has already led to a bolstered military presence, with more soldiers, armored vehicles, and artillery deployed to the border state of Roraima, along with the establishment of a new regiment.

Costa Neves explained, "The border situation made us bring forward some changes that were in our strategic plan. We are practically tripling our mechanized infantry, armored vehicles, and artillery in Roraima."

The reinforcements will consist of two permanently stationed forward bases within the Yanomami reservation along the Uraricoera and Mucajai rivers, which serve as primary entry points for illegal gold miners encroaching on the territory.

These miners have brought diseases, deforestation, and violence to the isolated Yanomami lands, contributing to malnutrition and fatalities. Last year, Brazil’s government declared a humanitarian emergency and mobilized a task force to displace approximately 20,000 miners.

However, miners began to re-enter the area after military operations were scaled back and enforcement of a no-fly zone for planes flying them to clandestine airstrips proved ineffective, as reported by environmental enforcement agents.

Costa Neves indicated that the army will maintain a constant presence at the two new bases, providing logistical support to environmental, Indigenous, and health agencies, while also cracking down on illegal activities within a 150-km zone from the border.

The general, who previously commanded the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, dismissed criticism regarding the military’s prior inability to secure the Yanomami territory effectively.

"We airlifted 600 tonnes of food and supplies that were dropped by parachute to Indigenous communities. It was the largest airlift operation in the Brazilian Air Force’s history," he remarked.

With military assistance, around 80% of the miners have been removed, with approximately 80 dredges destroyed and 22 aircraft seized or eliminated.

The armed forces also distributed 36,000 food parcels, airlifted 206 patients out of the 6,000 Yanomami people treated, and arrested 165 individuals for environmental crimes, Costa Neves noted.