Dom Philips, 57, regular contributor to the British daily The Guardianand Bruno Pereira, 41, a recognized expert on indigenous peoples, disappeared in the Javari Valley region.
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The two men have not been found since Sunday. As the investigation continues into the disappearance in a remote region of the Amazon of a British journalist and a Brazilian expert, “traces of blood were found on the boat of Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, known as ‘Pelado'”, announced the federal police of Brazil, Thursday, June 9, in a press release. The latter, referred to as “suspicious”was arrested on Tuesday for carrying drugs and ammunition of an unauthorized caliber.
Witnesses also said they saw him speeding by in a boat going in the same direction as that of the two missing when they were last seen. Dom Philips, 57, regular contributor to the British daily The Guardianand Bruno Pereira, 41, a recognized expert on indigenous peoples, disappeared in the Javari Valley region, where they were conducting interviews for a book on environmental conservation.
Very difficult to access, this valley located near the Peruvian border is experiencing an escalation of armed violence due to the presence of miners, gold miners, poachers and drug traffickers and where native patrols fight these “invasions” of landincreasingly common under the government of far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Asked about this disappearance on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in which he is participating in Los Angeles (United States), the Brazilian president implied that the two men had been reckless. “In general, we go to this region with an escort. They have gone on an adventure”did he declare. “Pray to God they are still alive” but “with each passing day these chances decrease”.
This disappearance triggered the mobilization of personalities and groups for the defense of the environment and human rights and demonstrations were organized Thursday in London and Brasilia. The journalist’s family on Thursday called on British and Brazilian authorities to step up their efforts to locate the two men, whom they still have. “hope” to find.