The battle between authorities and illegal loggers has escalated to "something close to a guerrilla war" in Brazil's northern Para state, according to Brazil Magazine.
The antagonists in the battle are cattle ranchers-who clear land for agricultural purposes-and loggers, Brazil Magazine wrote. Environmental inspectors are constantly harassed when they attempt to stop environmental crimes, maneuvering roadblocks and attempted capture.
Authorities now conduct investigations armed. "We are investing in security in general and the capacity of our personnel," Hugo Américo Schaedler, manager of the office of the Environmental Protection Institute in Santarém, told Brazil Magazine. "We have to be armed; that means our men nowadays carry weapons and are trained to use them so nothing happens to our people."
