A good seven months after the murder of the British journalist Dom Phillips and the indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, the Brazilian federal police have “with great probability” identified a client.
There are strong indications that Rubén da Silva Villar commissioned the crime, the regional police chief said at a press conference on Monday. The case was “90 percent” cleared up. “The investigations are in the final phase,” said police chief Eduardo Fontes.
The alleged mastermind is suspected of leading a criminal organization involved in illegal fishing in the Vale do Javari region of the Amazon. Charges are to be brought against him.
The drug lord, who is now in prison and known by the nickname “Colombia”, allegedly provided weapons and a boat for three men who ultimately committed the crime. Prosecutors had already indicted several suspects in July.
Phillips and Pereira went missing on June 5 during an expedition to the Javari Valley in western Brazil. Almost two weeks later, the federal police announced that her remains had been identified.
Duo researched crime in the Amazon
According to the Attorney General, Pereira was killed with three shots. Phillips was therefore only killed because he was also on site in the remote part of the Amazon region. So the previous crime should be covered up.
As a motive, the public prosecutor said that Pereira asked Phillips to photograph the defendants’ boat. Pereira had already had a conflict with one of them because of illegal fishing in indigenous areas.
The Brazilian border area with Peru and Colombia is particularly dangerous due to illegal prospecting for gold, deforestation, fishing and hunting as well as drug smuggling. Gold miners, poachers and drug gangs are active in the region.
Pereira had documented illegal activities in the Javari Valley for the authorities. The local indigenous expert had reported to the police that he had been threatened several times. As a freelance journalist, Phillips wrote regularly for the British “Guardian”. Together they had researched a book about violence against indigenous people and sustainable protection of the rainforest. (dpa, AFP)
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