Brazil is preparing a task force of armed forces, police and government agencies to expel illegal gold miners who invaded the Yanomami indigenous reservation, officials said on Tuesday.
Joenia Wapichana, who in a few days will become the first indigenous person to head the government's indigenous affairs agency, Funai, said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged to end illegal mining on protected reservation lands.
Speaking to journalists on the Amazon-based journalism platform Sumaúma, Wapichana said she could not give details of the imminent operation in order to not alert the miners who have invaded the Yanomami territory. "We have to let the police forces organize the operation in secret; the message from President Lula is that it will happen soon and cannot delay long," she said.
Wapichana said the task force, as in past offensives against illegal miners, will involve the Federal Police, environmental protection agency Ibama, Funai and several ministries, as well as the military. The miners have polluted waters with mercury used to separate metal from ore and earth. They fly supply planes to clandestine airstrips in the jungle and use the rivers to take heavier machinery and fuel to their prospects, which are muddy ponds where they dredge for gold in forest clearings.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Brazil prepares task force to expel miners from Yanomami lands, indigenous leader saysBrazil's government is preparing a task force involving several government agencies and enforcement bodies that will soon launch an operation to remove illegal gold miners from the Yanomami reservation, indigenous leader Joenia Wapichana said on Tuesday.
Read more »
Brazil miner lobby seeks end to illegal mining that caused Yanomami tragedyThe Brazilian government must act to stamp out illegal gold mining that has caused a humanitarian crisis of hunger and disease in the Yanomami indigenous population, mining industry lobby Ibram said on Monday.
Read more »
Brazil's Lula orders crackdown on supplies to illegal miners in Yanomami territoryBrazil's president on Monday announced a crackdown on transportation of supplies to illegal gold miners in the Yanomami reservation in northern Brazil, hoping to force out the wildcat miners who have caused a humanitarian crisis among the area's indigenous people.
Read more »
Pa. Legislature’s special election bonanza kicks off with 27th Senate District on TuesdayFour special elections in the Pa. Legislature in coming weeks kicks off Tuesday with one for the 27th Senate District.
Read more »
Dusting to 1 inch of snow in forecast Tuesday night for parts of N.J.Temperatures on Monday will reach the low 50s, but frigid conditions await by the end of the week in New Jersey, forecasters say.
Read more »
COVID-19 delays Householder public corruption trial until TuesdayThe federal trial against former Speaker of the Ohio House Larry Householder has been postponed until Tuesday after a juror tested positive for COVID-19, according to U.S. District Court.
Read more »