Sao Paulo, Brazil –
An indigenous group in Brazil said Wednesday that its members detained 12 people for alleged illegal mining in the Amazon and handed them over to police.
The nonprofit Urihi Associacao Yanomami said in a statement that the incident occurred Tuesday in the northern state of Roraima, which borders Venezuela. The organization said its measure was aimed at avoiding the risk of water contamination by mercury in mining.
Brazil’s Ministry of Indigenous Peoples confirmed that a dozen suspected miners, including 10 men and two women, were in police custody.
The Yanomami group filmed some of its members carrying bows and shotguns as they took the suspected miners to the police. The detainees did not comment on the video. The Associated Press could not find a spokesperson for them.
The Yanomami community is the largest indigenous tribe in the Amazon that lives in relative isolation, and many of its members are contaminated with mercury from widespread illegal gold mining, according to Brazil’s main public health institute.
Yanomami territory, which covers an area the size of Portugal and has a population of 27,000, has endured decades of illegal mining. Its problem with miners expanded significantly during far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s four-year term, which ended in 2022.
The Yanomami group criticized the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the continued presence of illegal miners.
Lula has promised to expel gold prospectors from Yanomami territory and improve health conditions, but indigenous leaders say his administration has yet to deliver.
On April 10, Pope Francis met with a leader of Brazil’s Yanomami people, who called for papal backing for Lula’s efforts to reverse decades of exploitation of the Amazon and better protect its indigenous people. Francis told Yanomami leader David Kopenawa that he would speak with Brazil’s president about the issue.
The Amazon rainforest is a key buffer against climate change and studies have said indigenous-controlled forests are the best conserved in the region.