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WORLD NEWS Thursday 9 June 2022
Brazil police questioning suspect in Amazon disappearances

By DIANE JEANTET and FA- has deployed a great task
BIANO MAISONNAVE force in the region. This is
Associated Press not true,” Eliesio Marubo,
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Bra- Univaja’s legal advisor, said
zilian police said Wednes- Tuesday. “They promised
day that they are question- that, today, they would
ing a suspect in the disap- send a helicopter to fly over
pearance of a British jour- the area and it also didn’t
nalist and an Indigenous happen. Now it is 4 p.m., it
affairs official who went was supposed to arrive at
missing in a remote part 2 p.m., and until now noth-
of the Amazon rainforest ing. The fact is that we con-
more than three days ago. tinue the search alone.”
Civil police in Amazonas In her decision, Judge Jai-
state identified the suspect za Maria Pinto noted that
as 41-year-old Amarildo she had ordered the In-
da Costa de Oliveira, also digenous affairs agency to
known as “Pelado,” who maintain protections in the
was arrested for allegedly region after 2019 case filed
carrying a firearm without by Univaja reporting mul-
a permit, which is common tiple attacks from criminals.
practice in the region. Po- But she said that despite
lice didn’t clarify why he is that, the territory “has been
being treated as a suspect. maintained in a situation of
Authorities have ques- low protection and supervi-
tioned four others since British journalist Dom Phillips, right, and a Yanomami Indigenous man walk in Maloca Papiu village, sion.” There have been re-
the investigation started, Roraima state, Brazil, Nov. 2019. Associated Press peated shootouts between
according to a separate hunters, fishermen and of-
statement from the state’s agency with extensive the Indigenous territory’s ing by boat to the nearby ficial security agents in the
public security secretariat. experience in the region, boundary and brandished city of Atalaia do Norte on area, which has the world’s
It said no arrest related to were last seen early Sunday firearms at a Univaja patrol, Sunday morning, but never largest concentration of
the disappearances has in the Sao Rafael commu- the association’s president, arrived. Indigenous leaders uncontacted Indigenous
yet been made. nity, according to the Uni- Paulo Marubo, previously on the ground, family mem- people. It is also a ma-
Dom Phillips, who has been vaja association of people told The Associated Press. bers and peers of Pereira jor route for cocaine pro-
a regular contributor to in the Vale do Javari Indig- Phillips photographed the and Phillips have expressed duced on the Peruvian side
newspaper The Guardian, enous territory. The two had men at the time and the concern authorities’ search of the border, then smug-
and Bruno Araújo Pereira, been threatened on Satur- man known as Pelado was efforts were slow to start, gled into Brazil to supply lo-
an employee of the Bra- day when a small group one of them, Marubo said. and remain insufficient. cal cities or to be shipped
zilian Indigenous affairs of men traveled by river to The two men were return- “The Brazilian state says it to Europe. q

Venezuelan leader, barred from U.S. summit, arrives in Turkey

ISTANBUL (AP) — Venezue- the Black Sea, two days af- His official duties in Ankara There was no official word and tourism.
lan President Nicolas Mad- ter NATO members Bulgar- a meeting with his Turkish on whether the two men Earlier, Maduro laid a
uro was welcomed in the ia, North Macedonia and counterpart took place at met. Turkey and Venezu- wreath at the tomb of Tur-
Turkish capital on Wednes- Montenegro reportedly re- President Recep Tayyip Er- ela have deepened their key’s founder Mustafa Ke-
day just as the foreign min- fused to allow his plane to dogan’s palace just hours ties in recent years, with mal Ataturk before travel-
ister of Russia, a key ally of fly through their airspace to before Maduro arrived at trade rising to nearly $850 ing to the palace, arriving
the ostracized Latin Ameri- reach Serbia. the same venue. million, according to Er- in a limousine escorted by
can regime, was also visit- dogan. Venezuela’s gold ceremonial cavalry.
ing the city. trade with Turkey has risen Erdogan was the first Turkish
Maduro is on a Eurasian as U.S. sanctions have cut president to visit Venezuela
tour after being rebuffed off other sources of income in 2018 while Maduro has
by Washington, which de- for Caracas. traveled to Turkey on sev-
cided not to invite him to Erdogan told a news con- eral occasions.
the Summit of the Ameri- ference with Maduro that During one such stopover
cas. Turkey was against the Maduro and his wife were
Turkey is one of a handful “one-sided” sanctions on criticized for dining in the
of places around the world Venezuela. “We will always expensive Salt Bae steak
Russia and Iran are other stand with the friendly and restaurant while many Ven-
friendly states where Mad- brotherly people of Vene- ezuelans were struggling
uro is welcome amid U.S. zuela,” he said, adding that with poverty.
sanctions on his country. he hoped to visit Caracas The Summit of the Americas
Similarly, Russian Foreign next month. meeting of regional lead-
Minister Sergey Lavrov also Manduro thanked Turkey ers in Los Angeles is taking
faces travel restrictions Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, right, reviews a military for its support during the place June 7-to-10. The
due to his country’s war on honour guard with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan COVID-19 pandemic and governments of Venezu-
Ukraine. during a welcome ceremony, in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, said the two countries had ela, Cuba and Nicaragua
Lavrov arrived in Turkey, June 8, 2022. signed three agreements have been excluded from
which like Russia borders Associated Press on banking, agriculture it by the United States.q