The organisation recalled the “Colniza massacre”, which occurred last April when “four men armed with knives, revolvers and shotguns” roamed the wilderness in Mato Grosso state “bent on killing and terrorising the local population”.
The attack was motivated by the “greed” of timber thieves stealing resources of great value in a region known for highly prized tree species used to make high-end furniture, according to the environmentalist organisation. Authorities point to Valdelir Joao de Souza, known as the “Polish Woodworker” and the owner of wood companies, as the mastermind behind these crimes.
Souza is in hiding, but his companies are currently operating in a completely normal way processing wood that is then sold on the domestic and international markets, according to a Greenpeace report.
