“The house of an indigenous leader burns in a new attack by illegal miners in the Amazon”, 27 May 2021

...The family home of the indigenous leader of the Munduruku ethnic group Maria Leusa Kaba burned in flames in the Fazenda Tapajós village, in the southwest of the state of Pará. Only the wooden pillars that supported the structure were visible. The ‘garimpeiros’ (illegal miners) arrived furious with cans of gasoline and they also burned another house. The attack was his response to a mega-operation by the Federal Police against illegal mining in the area. Pará is one of the centers of this type of activity in the Amazon and part of these clandestine enterprises are in Munduruku territory, with a population of about 14,000 people, distributed in 130 villages. Maria Leusa Kaba had already received death threats on several occasions for her opposition to illegal mining. In March, the headquarters of the Munduruku Women’s Association, which she leads, was also attacked. It was no use that this week Luis Roberto Barroso, a Supreme Court judge, ordered the Government to adopt measures to protect the Yanomami Indigenous Territories and the Munduruku...The Munduruku Ipereg Ayu movement considered “unacceptable” that even with the presence of the National Force in the region, the village of one of its main leaders was invaded. “We fear for the lives of those who tirelessly fight to defend the life of the Munduruku people and the future of everyone on this planet”, warned...