martes, 26 de agosto de 2025
BRASIL: ABRAPO – Denunciation Note of August 13: Continuation of the Attacks against the Area Valdiro Chagas (Red Herald)
We share hereby an unofficial translation of the notes by the Brazilian Association of the People’s Lawyers (ABRAPO) published recently by Resistencia Camponesa.
Residents report new attacks involving arson, invasions, and persecutions in the Valdiro Chagas Area.
The ABRAPO – Brazilian Association of People’s Lawyers – Gabriel Pimenta denounces new episodes of intimidation, destruction, and violence against the peasant families in the Valdiro Chagas Area, in Machadinho d’Oeste/RO.
Reports received directly from residents of the area indicate that, since this morning, 4×4 trucks with police and goons have been circulating through the camp, setting fire to pastures, along the roads, and near the houses. This action has caused widespread fear and forced isolation of the families, who find themselves coerced and under constant threat.
According to the reports, the homes of the occupants are being surrounded and invaded. There are records of unidentified vehicles identified as belonging to groups of goons (“guaxebas”), stopping residents on the roads, following people at night, and repeatedly passing in front of homes to intimidate.
Residents report that a child saw a black truck with five armed men and expressed fear of leaving home and going to school. In another report, there is evidence of fire in the forest within the area, amid the ostensible presence of these armed groups.
The attacks would include persecutions at night, as evidenced by reports of cars and vehicles of goons circulating around 23:00, following residents and creating a permanent climate of terror. The threats have intensified with the burning of areas near the homes and the obstruction of free movement, even affecting the right to education for children.
Images attributed to BOPE agents from Rondônia are circulating on social media, with their faces covered by parts, showing burned houses, destroyed pastures, and the body of the murdered peasant on the ground. These images would highlight the brutality of the actions and the attempt to turn crimes into trophies, in a context of political violence and armed repression.
These events reinforce the pattern of violence and criminalization that has long affected land workers in Rondônia, and which, as has already been reported, occurs in an organized manner between state agents and private interests.
ABRAPO reiterates its solidarity with the families and demands:
- The immediate withdrawal of police forces and armed groups from the Valdiro Chagas Area;
- Independent and fast investigations into the attacks, with accountability for the masterminds and executors;
- Guarantee of security and physical integrity for all residents of the area;
- Adoption of urgent measures by State and federal authorities to cease the aggressions and preserve life.
Enough of repression, criminalization, and violence against those who live and work the land.
ABRAPO – Brazilian Association of People’s Lawyers – Gabriel Pimenta
