Brazilian police announced Monday the indictment of a Colombian fish trader accused of orchestrating the 2022 murders of Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips in the Amazon rainforest.
Ruben Dario da Silva Villar, who has been in custody since July 2022, allegedly supplied ammunition and helped conceal the victims’ bodies, according to police sources. Investigators say he operated an illegal fishing enterprise within the protected Javari Valley Indigenous Territories, home to thousands of Indigenous people including the world’s largest concentration of uncontacted groups.
“The victim was dedicated to protecting environmental conservation and upholding Indigenous rights,” police said in their statement, explaining that Pereira’s environmental monitoring efforts prompted the killings. Phillips was conducting research for a book about the Amazon when he was killed alongside Pereira.
The investigation, spanning two years, has resulted in nine indictments. Two defendants, Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira and Jefferson da Silva Lima, previously confessed to the killings while claiming self-defense, and will face jury trials.
Pereira, formerly with Brazil’s Indigenous bureau, was working as a consultant for the local Indigenous association Univaja at the time of his death. The murders highlighted ongoing conflicts over environmental protection and Indigenous rights in the Amazon region.
Da Silva Villar has denied any involvement in the crimes. Police say he financed illegal fishing operations in the protected territories where Pereira had been working to enforce environmental regulations.
The case has drawn international attention to violence against environmental defenders and journalists in Brazil’s Amazon region, where conflicts over land use and resource exploitation frequently turn deadly.
apnews.com
