Driving out the rainforest invaders - Crackdown on illegal mining brings hope after Bolsonaro era

Like mechanised Valkyries, nine helicopters filled with armed men and women in camouflage uniforms swoop over dense forests and remote rivers - not a scene from Apocalypse Now, but a Brazilian government mission to forestall catastrophe in the Amazon rainforest.

- Jonathan Watts

The aircraft from the country's two main environmental agencies, Ibama and ICMBio, fly for hours above the Tapajós basin, then break formation when they approach their targets: illegal goldmining camps that are contaminating the waters and earth of the forest.

As the helicopters descend in a cloud of dust, the surprised prospectors flee, abandoning their excavators, dredges and high-pressure pumps. The environmental agents leap out and secure a perimeter, then set fire to every piece of equipment and every drop of fuel. In less than an hour, plumes of thick black smoke billow up into the sky - a signal that illegal mining will no longer be permitted in conservation parks, Indigenous territories and other areas under the protection of the state. The agents then fly off to refuel and move on to the next target.

For the past four days, this has been the routine of Ibama agent Hugo Loss, who says he and his team have neutralised 43 dredges, 33 excavators and 30 pump engines in Operation Xapiri, one of the biggest federal actions against illegal mining in over a decade. For him, it is not just about protecting the environment, but also fighting for justice. The goldmines, he says, enrich criminals, which gives them economic and political power that they use to promote a vision of society in which a wealthy minority benefits at the expense of a poor minority and a wrecked habitat.

"This model is unsustainable," he says in a call between flights. "By destroying the equipment of these criminal groups, we are removing their ability to exploit natural resources and bolster their finances and power. It's not just about the law. It's about society. We need something more inclusive and healthy instead of their values, which destroy all the rivers and streams, affecting hundreds of thousands of people."