Federal Government begins to remove trespassers from Karipuna Indigenous Lands in Rondônia

On Friday, May 31, Brazil’s Federal Government began a removing intruders from the Karipuna Indigenous Lands (Terra Indígena Karipuna/TIKA). The Ministry of Justice and Public Security’s (Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública/MJSP) National Force (Força Nacional) spearheads this operation.

The lands are located within the municipalities of Porto Velho and Nova Mamoré, in the Brazilian state of Rondônia. This operation aims to remove invaders, mostly illegal miners and loggers and give back control of the region to its original peoples.

The Karipuna region covers 153 thousand hectares; the indigenous population is distributed across two communities. The local history of extermination has kept the communities small and mostly made up of young people who work in and around Porto Velho.

The region is threatened by illegal logging and mining activities that exploit natural resources, pollute rivers, put the local population's health at risk and threaten the culture and social organization of indigenous peoples.

Data from Plataforma Brasil Mais register 51 deforestation alerts in the Karipuna Indigenous Lands last year.  In 2022, over the last 12 months of the previous administration, 435 deforestation alerts were recorded, indicating an 88% drop this year.

ACTIONS - The Brazilian Federal Government aims to peacefully remove the invading groups. The repossession of federal lands and the destruction of facilities and access routes that would allow invaders to return is part of the operation. Agents have deployed heavy machinery to block clandestine roads, build fences, dig ditches and destroy bridges to restrict unauthorized access to the indigenous lands.

Technological resources have also been deployed, such as data recording apps, drones for spot/area surveillance, satellite communication antennas and internet connections to assist in coordinating all activities. Regional monitoring will continue until all intruders have been removed.

The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (Ministério dos Povos Indígenas/MPI) and the Ministry of Defense (Ministério da Defesa/MD) will be responsible for developing and implementing a regional sustainability plan coordinated by the General Secretariat of the Presidency (Secretaria-Geral da Presidência da República/SG/PR).

The following agencies are taking part in the intruder removal operation alongside the Ministry of Justice: the Office of the Chief of Staff (Casa Civil); the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples; the Ministry of Defense; the General Secretariat of the Presidency; the Attorney General’s Office (Procuradoria Geral da União/PGR); the Amazon Protection System Management and Operational Center (Centro Gestor e Operacional do Sistema de Proteção da Amazônia/Censipam); the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Agência Brasileira de Inteligência/Abin); the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Fundação Nacional dos Povos Indígenas/Funai); the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis/Ibama); the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária/Incra); and the Chico Mendes Institute for Conservation of Biodiversity (Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade/ICMBio).

ADPF 709 – In November 2023, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal/STF) ordered the Brazilian Government to devise plans for the removal within 90 days of invaders from the Yanomami, Karipuna, Araribóia, Kayapó, Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, Trincheira Bacajá and Mundurucu lands. The order resulted from a case brought to the court via an Action for Non-compliance with Fundamental Precept (Arguição de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental/ADPF), number 709.

In March this year, STF approved operational plans that include the Continuous Monitoring and Development Plan (Plano de Monitoramento e Desenvolvimento Continuado/MDC), mandating that intruder removal plans must be adapted to the conditions of each community.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MJSP - Within the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the National Force, the Federal Police (Polícia Federal), and the Federal Highway Police (Polícia Rodoviária Federal) have several important roles beyond removing invaders and preventing their return. These roles include repressing illicit activities in general; combating criminal organizations operating in the region; curbing illegal logging; eliminating labor analogous to slavery; promoting environmental preservation and strengthening the presence of the Brazilian State in the region.

NATIONAL FORCE – The National Force is responsible for ensuring safety during and after intruder removal and proceeding with environmental inspection. It is also in charge of providing Judicial Police (Polícia Judiciária) and Technical Expertise (Perícia Técnica) teams to support the Federal Police; carrying out tactical operations; and helping to re-establish public order in the regions around the operational bases.

FEDERAL POLICE – Among other responsibilities, the Federal Police conducts criminal investigations to dismantle and financially disrupt the criminal organizations of the invading groups. Federal agents analyze seized materials and other information collected during the operation. It is also responsible for coordinating Judicial Police actions, alongside other agencies involved in the operation; arrests; seizure of illicit or illegal materials; expertise; collecting data on criminal conduct; supporting the actions of justice officials and tactical groups; and destroying drug crops.

THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY POLICE - The Federal Highway Police is in charge of combating environmental and socio-environmental crime, especially in blocking indigenous territories. Its public security agents also monitor the transportation of machinery and fuel supplies to areas undergoing illegal deforestation; support the Shock Group (Grupamento de Choque); and provide support to all other necessary logistical resources.

By: Ministry of Justice and Public Security