SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Environmental Official Shot Dead in Brazil as Attacks on Land Defenders Rise in Latin America
Latin America remains the most dangerous region in the world for land defenders and environmental activists
Oct 16, 2016
An environmental official well-known for his aggressive enforcement of deforestation laws in his city in the Brazilian Amazon was gunned down in front of his family late Thursday, city officials reported Friday.
Two men shot the official, Luiz Araujo, seven times as he drove up to his home, local police told the Associated Press.
"[T]wo men fled on a motorcycle without taking anything, leading to speculation that they were paid assassins," the Los Angeles Times reports.
AP notes that Araujo, environmental secretary for the small northern city of Altamara, had reportedly received death threats before.
The killing appears to have been carried out in retaliation for Araujo's staunch defense of the rainforest.
The Los Angeles Times observes that the conflict between industry and environmental regulations as resulted in bloodshed in the past:
Altamira is located the northern Amazonian state of Para, where environmental crime continues to be a major problem, with landowners often employing violence to silence threats to their business. Journalists, activists, and locals who collaborate with environmental authorities have been killed.
"The government of Altimara has lost a dedicated servant and important figure in the fight for better environmental policies in the region," read a statement released by Altamira City Hall, the LA Times reports. "Since 2014, he has performed his duties with brilliance and enormous competence and intelligence. He was admired by all."
Araujo's killing comes only weeks after an assault that hospitalized Goldman-Prize-winning environmental activist Maxima Acuna de Chaupe in Peru. She was attacked on her own land by the security forces of Minera Yanacocha, a subsidiary of Denver-based Newmont Mining, whose gold mine Acuna de Chaupe has long opposed.
And as the murder of Honduran land defender Berta Caceres earlier this year remains unsolved, violence against Indigenous and environmental activists continues to rise in Latin America as undeveloped land is more and more threatened by industry.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
An environmental official well-known for his aggressive enforcement of deforestation laws in his city in the Brazilian Amazon was gunned down in front of his family late Thursday, city officials reported Friday.
Two men shot the official, Luiz Araujo, seven times as he drove up to his home, local police told the Associated Press.
"[T]wo men fled on a motorcycle without taking anything, leading to speculation that they were paid assassins," the Los Angeles Times reports.
AP notes that Araujo, environmental secretary for the small northern city of Altamara, had reportedly received death threats before.
The killing appears to have been carried out in retaliation for Araujo's staunch defense of the rainforest.
The Los Angeles Times observes that the conflict between industry and environmental regulations as resulted in bloodshed in the past:
Altamira is located the northern Amazonian state of Para, where environmental crime continues to be a major problem, with landowners often employing violence to silence threats to their business. Journalists, activists, and locals who collaborate with environmental authorities have been killed.
"The government of Altimara has lost a dedicated servant and important figure in the fight for better environmental policies in the region," read a statement released by Altamira City Hall, the LA Times reports. "Since 2014, he has performed his duties with brilliance and enormous competence and intelligence. He was admired by all."
Araujo's killing comes only weeks after an assault that hospitalized Goldman-Prize-winning environmental activist Maxima Acuna de Chaupe in Peru. She was attacked on her own land by the security forces of Minera Yanacocha, a subsidiary of Denver-based Newmont Mining, whose gold mine Acuna de Chaupe has long opposed.
And as the murder of Honduran land defender Berta Caceres earlier this year remains unsolved, violence against Indigenous and environmental activists continues to rise in Latin America as undeveloped land is more and more threatened by industry.
An environmental official well-known for his aggressive enforcement of deforestation laws in his city in the Brazilian Amazon was gunned down in front of his family late Thursday, city officials reported Friday.
Two men shot the official, Luiz Araujo, seven times as he drove up to his home, local police told the Associated Press.
"[T]wo men fled on a motorcycle without taking anything, leading to speculation that they were paid assassins," the Los Angeles Times reports.
AP notes that Araujo, environmental secretary for the small northern city of Altamara, had reportedly received death threats before.
The killing appears to have been carried out in retaliation for Araujo's staunch defense of the rainforest.
The Los Angeles Times observes that the conflict between industry and environmental regulations as resulted in bloodshed in the past:
Altamira is located the northern Amazonian state of Para, where environmental crime continues to be a major problem, with landowners often employing violence to silence threats to their business. Journalists, activists, and locals who collaborate with environmental authorities have been killed.
"The government of Altimara has lost a dedicated servant and important figure in the fight for better environmental policies in the region," read a statement released by Altamira City Hall, the LA Times reports. "Since 2014, he has performed his duties with brilliance and enormous competence and intelligence. He was admired by all."
Araujo's killing comes only weeks after an assault that hospitalized Goldman-Prize-winning environmental activist Maxima Acuna de Chaupe in Peru. She was attacked on her own land by the security forces of Minera Yanacocha, a subsidiary of Denver-based Newmont Mining, whose gold mine Acuna de Chaupe has long opposed.
And as the murder of Honduran land defender Berta Caceres earlier this year remains unsolved, violence against Indigenous and environmental activists continues to rise in Latin America as undeveloped land is more and more threatened by industry.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.