Indigenous people from Amazonas who are fighting against mining and the exploitation of fossil fuels in their territories, during their participation in the international seminar ‘Indigenous peoples and traditional communities facing the challenges of climate emergencies’ in Manaus, said that they feel threatened and watched as they move around their communities in their routine activities, whether fishing or working in the fields. They claim that, in recent months, drones have been seen flying over their communities.

The indigenous people can't say who the equipment belongs to, but they suspect that the monitoring has something to do with their public opposition to mining projects. Apoliana Cardoso, a member of the Mura people, from the village of São Francisco, in the municipality of Silves (181 kilometres from Manaus), where the company Eneva explores for natural gas and has plans to expand the project, reports seeing the equipment.

"There have already been relatives who have said that there are drones in our villages at night to watch us, to know our steps, what we're doing. They can't find out what we're thinking, but they can find out what we do on a daily basis because they're monitoring us,’ she says.