Yanomami territory now 33 days with no illegal mining alerts

The Brazilian Federal Police announced Tuesday (Jun. 20) that no illegal mining alerts have been detected in Yanomami lands for over 30 days. The last warning was detected on May 6 via satellite, less than three months after the launch of Operation Liberation in February, aimed at curbing illegal mining.

“This is the first time since the beginning of the monitoring in August 2020 that such a long stretch of time goes by without any mining alerts. This shows for the first time in recent years that no new areas have been exploited, and that has persisted for 33 days, up until June 8, when the survey ends. Satellite images are processed daily and consolidated every seven days,” the police stated.

In April and May last year, 538 alerts of illegal mining were reported in the region. According to the federal agents, during the same span this year, there was a drastic reduction in alerts, adding up to no more than 33. Now, the police went on to declare, the focus will be on occupying areas within the indigenous territory to ensure basic services to the Yanomami are maintained.

Efforts will also concentrate on locations with lingering criminals, in a bid to arrest those who have refused to leave the area voluntarily.