Maxciel Pereira dos Santos, a worker for an agency that defends Brazil’s indigenous people, was murdered in front of his family execution-style in the Amazon town of Tabatinga.
Santos, who worked at the Brazilian indigenous protection agency FUNAI, was shot twice in the head last week as he rode a motorbike down the main road in Tabatinga. The town is located deep in the Amazon rainforest on Brazil’s border with Peru and Columbia, according to the the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper.
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INA (a union group representing workers at FUNAI) cited evidence stating that:
Santos’ murder occurred in retaliation for his role in combating illegal invasions by hunters, loggers and gold miners in the Vale do Javari reservation, home to the world’s highest concentration of uncontacted indigenous tribes.1
Folha de S.Paulo said police were investigating whether Santos’ death was related to his work at FUNAI. Unfortunately, at this time they did not have enough information to determine the motivation behind the murder.
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INA said Santos worked more than twelve years at FUNAI. He spent five years as chief of environment services at the Vale do Javari reservation.
FUNAI has three base sites in the Vale do Javari to defend an area the size of Austria. There are over 6,000 residents from eight tribes and approximately sixteen uncontacted tribes.
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INA pleaded with authorities to confirm that Brazil “no longer condones violence against those who engage, under the rule of law, in the protection and promotion of indigenous rights.”1
It also pressed officials to protect agents who guard indigenous lands. The madness must end.
