According to the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Flávio Dino (PSB), the Federal Police will be responsible for the investigation to determine responsibilities and punish the culprits.| Photo: Valter Campanato/Agência Brasil.

The Minister of Justice and Public Security, Flávio Dino (PSB), will determine the opening of a police investigation to investigate the crime of genocide and environmental crimes in the region of the Yanomami people, in Roraima. The minister is in the state with President Lula (PT). A delegation from the federal government traveled to the place to verify the situation of the indigenous people.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the Federal Police will be responsible for the investigation to determine responsibilities and punish the culprits. “President Lula determined that the laws be complied with throughout the country. And let’s do this in relation to the criminal suffering imposed on the Yanomami. There are strong indications of the crime of genocide, which will be investigated by the PF”, said Dino.

According to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, 99 children of the Yanomami people died due to the advance of illegal mining in the region. The data refer to 2022 and the victims were children between one and four years old. The causes of death are mostly malnutrition, pneumonia and diarrhea.

The folder also estimates that at least 570 children were killed by mercury contamination, malnutrition and hunger in the region. In addition, in 2022, 11,530 cases of malaria were confirmed in the Yanomami Special Indigenous Health District, distributed among 37 Base Poles. The most affected age groups are those over 50, followed by the 18-49 and 5-11 age groups, says the government.