Brazil Deploys an Extra 3.500 Troops to Colombian Border

Citing concerns with drug trafficking in the Amazon, Brazil is dispatching 3,500 Army soldiers to be stationed on the Brazilian border with Colombia.

The head of the Amazon Military Command (CMA), general Villas Boas, says the reinforcements will join in combating narcotraffic and strengthening the area’s infrastructure.

"Brazil does not have border problems. Our borders were established peacefully. But there are problems with narcotraffic in the region.

"Our concern with the Farc (the Colombian guerrilla movement) is really a narcotraffic problem. The Farc does not operate militarily inside the Brazilian border," the general explained.

He went on to say that the presence of Army troops in remote Amazon areas means that there will be at least a minimum increase in transportation, energy, telecommunications, healthcare and educational facilities.

"We make it possible for the local population near our bases to receive governmental assistance," said general Villas Boas.

Meanwhile, the general coordinator of Brazilian Amazon Indigenous Groups (Coordenação das Organizações Indí­genas da Amazônia Brasileira) (Coiab), Jecinaldo Sateré-Mawé, says:

"The guerrilla movement and narcotraffic are a concern and a reality that also affect the indigenous peoples of this region."

Agência Brasil

Tags:

You May Also Like

Steel Production in Brazil Falls 9%

Brute steel production in Brazil totaled 4.707 million tons in the first two months ...

Sí£o Paulo, Brazil, Agricultural Exports Fall Close to 10%

Agribusiness products exports from the state of São Paulo, in Brazil's Southeast, totaled US$ ...

Brazilian Indians Get US$ 2.8 Million for Health Care

Health care will be reinforced for Indians who live in eleven Brazilian states. The ...

Polls Give Lula Lead But Don’t Help Brazil’s Market

Latin American stocks dropped, with Brazilian shares posting the biggest losses on continued worries ...

Volunteers Wanted to Work with Children in Hospital and School in Brazil

Global Volunteers, a nonprofit international development organization, will begin sending short-term volunteer teams to ...

Group of Congressmen in Brazil Tries to Salvage Congress’s Image

In its continuing attempts to salvage the image of Brazilian Congress, a new organization, ...

Brazil’s Quota Foes Conveniently Forget US Affirmative Action’s 40-Year Success

Late last month, in the same week when the Federal University of Rio Grande ...

Brazil’s Foreign Exchange Flow at US$ 2.9 Billion Deficit

The balance of dollar inflows and outflows from Brazil, known as the foreign exchange ...

Brazil’s Oil Production: Nothing to Call Home About

Petrobras reports that total gas and oil production rose to an average 2,075,000 barrels ...

Brazil Lends Helicopter to Rescue FARC’s Colombian Hostages

With the help of Brazil a Colombian soldier and three police officers were released ...