A year after Lula's announcements to save the Yanomami Indians, the situation for them is the same (or even worse).
Between January and November 2023, 308 Indigenous people died, most of whom were children under five. The massacre continues.
Data from the official health service in the Yanomami area show that malaria increased by 61% in 2023, with at least 25,000 cases, as did influenza, which increased from 3,203 cases in 2022 (Bolsonaro) to 20,524 in 2023 (Lula). , with an increase of 640%. Current photos and videos from the area reveal it shocking malnutrition in children and adults Yanomami as well as illegal gold miners who operate in the area with impunity.
An illegal airstrip just across the Venezuelan border, in the heart of Yanomami territory. Nine small aircraft can be seen. In one particularly shocking incident captured on video, three young Yanomami boys were tied up and held captive by miners.
Fiona Watson, Survival's research and advocacy director said today: “Despite President Lula's promises when he launched the operation to remove the miners a year ago, the current situation in Yanomami territory is nothing short of catastrophic.” “The situation of the thousands of Yanomami, “Those who live on the Venezuelan side of the border are terrible and receive little attention from the media.” With the support of the Venezuelan dictatorship, miners are working in new areas of Venezuela. There is currently an ongoing malaria epidemic and many Yanomami have also died in Venezuela, but the numbers are not known.
The figures cited by the NGO Survival are almost certainly an underestimate of the real situation, since health teams, for their own safety, do not visit the most remote areas of the territory where the miners are active. The PCC (First Capital Command) and the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) are two of the largest organized drug crime gangs in Brazil and now dominate the Yanomami reserves.
Paolo Manzo, January 20, 2024
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