Brazil: Police and businessmen arrested for land grabbing

We share an unofficial translation of an article by A Nova Demcoracia.

Three military police officers, one civil police officer, two businessmen, and two other individuals were arrested for operating a criminal network dedicated to the illegal appropriation of lands as well as for active and passive corruption, according to the Public Ministry of Bahia (MP-BA). This operation, which took place in Salvador, Candeias, and Camaçari began in 2022 and had already accused other State security agents involved in the regularization of the land grabbing scheme. The arrested police officers allegedly protected the land grabbers, reflecting the complicity of State security forces in this crime.

Among those detained is Walter Nunes Seijo Filho, linked to a former partner of OAS Construtora, revealing connections to the bureaucracy and comprador caste of Bahia. Carlos Suarez, known as the “King of Gas,” is also implicated in environmental crimes and land grabbing on Frades Island, where a climate of surveillance and privatization has been reported. Walter, closely associated with Suarez, has been accused of judicial manipulation in expropriation processes.

The Special Action Group to Combat Criminal Organizations (Gaeco) has exposed how the land grabbers operate in a structured manner, using violence and threats to dominate lands, with the support of State security agents. Their methods are similar to those of far-right paramilitary groups, such as the “Invasion Zero Movement,” which have been denounced by independent organizations and progressive media.

The Pataxó and Pataxó Hãhãhãe peoples have been targeted by coordinated attacks from the police, making self-defense difficult. The UN has demanded that the Brazilian State investigate and take action against these paramilitary groups, which continue to operate with impunity, even organizing national meetings to plan attacks against indigenous communities.