Brazilian police have indicted a Colombian fish trader as the person responsible for planning the slaying of Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips in the Amazon in 2022. The accused, identified as Ruben Dario da Silva Villar, is alleged to have supplied the ammunition used in the crime and assisted in hiding the bodies. Da Silva Villar, who has been in jail since July 2022, denies any wrongdoing.
The federal police investigation revealed that da Silva Villar financed an illegal fishing operation inside the Javari Valley Indigenous Territories, home to thousands of Indigenous people, including uncontacted groups. The motive behind the murders was Pereira's dedication to monitoring and enforcing environmental laws in the region. Phillips was accompanying Pereira for research on a book about the Amazon, which will be published posthumously.
Pereira, a former official with Brazil's Indigenous bureau, was working as a consultant for the local Indigenous association at the time of his death. Nine individuals were indicted during the two-year investigation, including Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira and Jefferson da Silva Lima, who confessed to the killings but claimed self-defense. Both are set to face trial by jury.
This case sheds light on the dangers faced by those advocating for environmental conservation and Indigenous rights in the Amazon region. The tragic loss of Pereira and Phillips serves as a stark reminder of the risks involved in protecting the environment and Indigenous communities.
