Brazil: ABRAPO and CEBRASPO Denounce Severe Violations of Peasants’ Rights in Rondônia
We hereby share an unofficial translation of a statement published by the Brazilian Association of People’s Lawyers Gabriel Pimenta (ABRAPO) and the Brazilian Center of Solidarity with the Peoples (CEBRASPO).
ABRAPO – Brazilian Association of People’s Lawyers Gabriel Pimenta and the CEBRASPO – Brazilian Center of Solidarity with the Peoples, we denounce and repudiate the actions of State agents along with the goons, in the service of latifundium, in the Gedeon José Duque area, located in Machadinho d’Oeste, Rondônia.
According to reports from the newspaper Resistência Camponesa, published in the newspaper A Nova Democracia, and confirmed by the Solidarity Mission carried out by CEBRASPO over the last weekend, April 12 and 13, 2025, as well as statements from people who inspected the site, a group of big landlords, in a coordinated action with the Military Police of Rondônia and goons, allegedly led by Gesulino Cesar Travagine Castro, has been committing all kinds of violence and abuses against the occupants of the area, apparently with the guarantee of impunity, and even audaciously publicizing their actions on social media.
This individual named Gesulino is a well-known figure and is accused of being the murderer and mastermind behind the infamous “Jacinópolis Massacre,” where six people were murdered in 2012.
According to reports from the peasants, on April 9, dozens of goons, accompanied by the Military Police, arrived shooting. Men, women, and children had to flee into the woods to avoid being murdered. All their shacks and belongings were burned, animals were shot, and their crops were destroyed. They left the area with only the clothes on their backs, losing the little they had to survive.
According to the newspaper “Resistência Camponesa,” in a report published on April 14, 2025, on the news portal of “A Nova Democracia”:
Since April 9, machines and tractors have been clearing the reserve forest located within the Gedeon Area, while groups of goons continue to destroy the belongings of families and hunt them down. A group of women and children is reportedly surrounded by these goons.
While the armed gang led by Gesulino carries out these violent acts, the Military Police are flying over the Gedeon Area in helicopters, and the Civil and Military Police from Machadinho d’Oeste and Cujubim are coordinating their actions on the ground with the goons who are operating in the forest.
Furthermore, the newspaper reports:
The actions of the Military Police and the goons have expanded to neighboring areas, despite the absence of any eviction orders issued by the courts of Rondônia against these areas.
To make things worse:
On April 10, goons conducted a raid and invaded the homes of peasants in the Gonzalo Area, threatening and assaulting several residents. They even choked an elderly couple, threatening to kill them if they did not leave their lands immediately. Also on April 10, the Military Police invaded a part of the Revolutionary Valdiro Chagas Area under the pretext of searching for peasants who had allegedly left the Gedeon Area and were supposedly being hidden by other residents of the neighboring area. So far, no authorities from the Executive, Legislative, or Judicial branches of Rondônia have commented on the situation. Meanwhile, Gesulino continues to post about his crimes on social media, including Instagram.
On the last day of the month, a video was posted showing him destroying the entrance to the Gedeon Area, setting fire to the surveillance structure of the area and the banners placed by the League of Poor Peasants. In another video, Gesulino boasts about the speed of constructing a fence in the part of the Gedeon Area that he invaded. Peasants have also identified one of the goons who shot a peasant from the Gedeon Area on March 31, named Diógenes, who is said to be one of Gesulino’s managers. The vehicle used in the attack was seen alongside the Military Police during the arrest of a local merchant and continues to circulate in the area.
So far, no arrests of the perpetrators of this crime have been made.
Peasants in the region report that the seizure of weapons and ammunition from members of the “Invasão Zero” group, carried out by the Military Police on April 9, was merely a staged event, while they covered the goons hiding in the forest. Faced with a fleet of more than 15 trucks with big landlords and heavily armed goons, the result of the police action was the seizure of only six firearms and a few dozen rounds of ammunition.
On April 11, another major police operation took place, serving the interests of latifundium against the São Francisco camp, located in the Nova Mutum region of Porto Velho (RO), where the Military Police arrested 26 people, including a pregnant woman.
The operation began at noon, and like in the Gedeon Area, no eviction order was presented. It involved more than six vehicles, a helicopter, and over 20 police officers. According to the peasants, the big landlords monitored the operation and gave orders on who should be arrested and what items should be taken by the police. The women who remained in the area were forced to cook for the police. On the same day, the peasants were released due to the immediate action of lawyers from ABRAPO.
In light of these circumstances, we denounce the escalating violence perpetrated by local police and armed paramilitary groups acting as private militias in service of the big landlords. This situation is not only occurring in Machadinho d’Oeste/RO but in various other regions of Rondônia and the country, without any action taken by the constituted powers, in a conscious and deliberate omission, colluding with the interests of large agribusiness big landlords and the far-right against the legitimate interests of the people struggling for land to live and work on.
It is also important to highlight that this case is not isolated; rather, it is part of a broader movement of reactionary offensives against peasants in favor of latifundium. In this context, on April 11, 2025, “At least 26 people, including a pregnant woman, were arrested by the Military Police of Rondônia during a major police operation serving the interests of landowners against the São Francisco camp, located in the Nova Mutum region of Porto Velho (RO).”
Last Monday, dozens of lawyers from ABRAPO and representatives from CEBRASPO met urgently and decided to bring these allegations to all national and international human rights defense bodies.
Therefore, we call upon all democrats, organizations, collectives, and individuals committed to the struggle of the people for land to amplify these allegations in order to put an end to these violent aggressions and prevent greater tragedies.
SEND YOU DENOUNCE TO THE FOLLOWING AGENCIES:
1. HUMAN RIGHTS NATIONAL COUNCIL:
2. FEDERAL PUBLIC MINISTRY:
3. NATIONAL AGRARIAN OMBUDSMAN DEPARTMENT:
ouvidoria.agraria.nacional@mda.gov.br
We urge the agencies to investigate these serious allegations of human rights violations.
FOR THE END OF CRIMES BY LATIFUNDIUM!
You can download the note in PDF format:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gJ4ybv6vLVAJiyD1xwaRfMtCCVHWryTP/view?usp=drive_link
