Gangs Use Territories as Drug Routes, and Indigenous People Suffer from Rising Violence - Folha de S.Paulo

The number of rifles seized on Indigenous lands in southern Bahia reached 26 in just the past two months.

The quantity illustrates what has become one of the main concerns of the Federal Police and local communities: the incursion of criminal factions into these territories as a route for drug sales to tourist hubs on Brazil’s coast, such as Porto Seguro, Trancoso, and Caraíva.

According to Indigenous leaders and agents interviewed by Folha under condition of anonymity, the picture is one of growing tension in a region with a long history of violence against Indigenous peoples. Since May, the National Force has been in the area to assist in the crackdown.

There are suspicions that factions are recruiting Indigenous people to work for drug trafficking. According to an investigator, the main hypothesis at present is that the operation is commanded by Comando Vermelho. The Justice Ministry, Federal Police, and Bahia state government declined to comment.

The southern Bahia region is one of Brazil’s main hotspots of land conflicts.