São Paulo, Brazil — Brazil authorized national guard troops to be sent to the city of Pacaraima, on the border with Venezuela, on Thursday. The troops could remain for up to 90 days and will also be present in Boa Vista, capital of the northern state of Roraima.
Brazil’s action comes a day after Venezuela reportedly sent forces to fortify its land border with Brazil.
“The contingent to be made available will comply with the planning defined by the Directorate of the National Public Security Force, of the National Secretariat of Public Security, of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security,” wrote the Brazilian Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, in an order published in the Official Gazette. However, it was not made explicit what the plan defined by the Ministry of Justice would be.
The order authorizes the Brazilian national guard to support the state’s public security agencies and act in activities and services “essential to the preservation of public order and the safety of people and property,” it adds.
Four days ago, the border was temporarily blocked for hours following the US bombing Saturday of military installations in Venezuela, which resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Brazil has been a fierce critic of the US attacks. On X, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva raised the tone saying the US crossed an “unacceptable line.”
Gimena Sanchez, Andes director for the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), notes that so far there hasn’t been a mass influx of Venezuelan immigrants to Brazil or Colombia, which also has a shared border – but armed groups rather than the US attacks could change that.
“What we’re hearing from the ground is that the ELN guerrillas and the FARC dissidents who operate on both sides of the Colombia and Venezuelan border, ELN having the majority of their people in Venezuela, including the state of Amazonas in Venezuela, have been pushing their people further south,” she told Brazil Reports.
Bram Ebus, a consultant at Crisis Group’s Latin American office and the founder of Amazon Underworld, points out that major Brazilian crime organizations like Red Command (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) have a presence in the Roraima state.
“Especially PCC has a presence in Roraima state, where it controls drug trafficking, but also illegal mining districts, where Venezuelan migrants and refugees are hired for illicit activities like extortion”, he said.
Southern Venezuela, according to Ebus, is an attractive territory for these groups because of the mining potential.
“We’re speaking about pretty significant gold deposits, but also the presence of rare earth elements and critical minerals like cotton, tin, tungsten,” Ebus added.
Featured image credit
Image: Children play at a marker on the border between Brazil and Venezuela.
Source: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil
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