Officials fired on during anti-logging operation in Indigenous territory

Federal, environmental and Indigenous affairs agents came under fire on Friday during an operation against illegal logging in Sete de Setembro Indigenous Territory, on the Rondônia-Mato Grosso border.

No one was injured, and the shots were fired as the teams were leaving the area.

The agents said trees had been felled across a road, blocking their access.

Police arrested one man suspected of involvement in the illegal logging operation; his identity was not released.

Authorities seized a chainsaw, two phones and a satellite internet antenna, and destroyed vehicles and timber they said were used in the operation.

The territory is traditionally occupied by the Paiter Suruí people and also faces pressure from illegal gold and mineral mining and armed violence linked to invasions.

Federal police are investigating the shooting, while the arrested man faces a charge related to unauthorized logging or commercial forest use on public land.