The Brazilian army continues to patrol 17 cities in the state of Pará, in the Amazon region, as part of Operation Pacification. One of the aims of the operation, conducted jointly with the civil and military police, is to disarm the population.
The 2,045 military personnel assigned to the region also provide logistic support and security for teams from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra), regional labor offices, and federal, military, and civil police forces.
The goal is to step up the offensive against illegal extraction and sale of wood and irregular occupation of land, among other criminal activities.
According to the Army’s Center of Social Communication (Cecomex), the intention is to discourage the actions of groups interested in these illegal pursuits.
According to the Army, around 90% of the military personnel stationed in the state of Pará are natives of the region, and there is no specified date for withdrawal of the troops.
The joint effort by Ibama inspectors, the police, and the army has resulted in the seizure of four thousand cubic meters of illegally extracted wood, for example.
The operation got underway earlier this month in the extractive reserve, Ever Green (“Verde para Sempre”).
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil
