The famous case of the death of the British journalist Dom Phillips and the Brazilian indigenous activist Bruno Araújo, which occurred last June in the Brazilian Amazon, has begun to be clarified. As confirmed by local authorities, the mastermind he is a Colombian citizen who used false documentation in that country.
The identity of the accused of having commissioned the double homicide, which had wide repercussions worldwide, was disclosed this Saturday after an operation in which Brazilian Federal Police agents arrested five people accused of integrating an illegal fishing network in the Amazon and to help hide the bodies of the victims.
Phillips, 57, and Pereira, 41, were shot dead on June 5 in the Javari Valley, a jungle region near Brazil’s border with Peru and Colombia, where there has been an increase in illegal fishing, logging, mining and drug trafficking.
(See also: British boy died who was in a coma for having measured himself to an internet challenge)
Although ‘Colombia’ He has been imprisoned since July 8 for his alleged participation in the murder of the collaborator of the newspaper The Guardian and the Brazilian indigenista, The judge who ordered the operation this Saturday issued a new arrest warrant against this defendant, who until now had only been identified by the nickname ‘Colombia’.
“The investigation team was able to identify the real identity of the individual known as ‘Colombia’. This is Rubén Darío da Silva Villar, a Colombian citizen who used forged documents, including a Brazilian and a Peruvian identity, among others,” according to a statement from the Federal Police.
In addition, they add: “With the progress of the investigations, the Federal Police identified strong indications that ‘Colombia’ is the leader and financier of an armed criminal organization that is dedicated to the practice of illegal fishing in the Valle do Javari region and that is responsible for marketing a large quantity of fish that was exported to neighboring countries.”
This Saturday’s operation aimed to capture the people accused of being part of this criminal organization, since the Federal Police suspects that, despite the fact that they did not directly participate in the double homicide, they helped hide the bodies of the victims.
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Today’s arrests were made in Atalaia do Norte and Benjamin Constant, municipalities in the state of Amazonas neighboring Tabatinga, a Brazilian city located on the border with Colombia.
After the confession of two of the accused, the bodies of Phillips and Araújo were found lifeless in the vicinity of Atalaia do Norte, where they had traveled to collect information for the book that the British journalist was writing about threats against indigenous people in the Valle do Javari.
Here, what was announced by the Brazilian authorities:
It was deflagrada, this Saturday (6/8), police operation to dismantle criminal association turned to practice of illegal fishing in Vale do Javari.
➡️ Know more: https://t.co/795JR7TsQK
— Federal Police (@gov_pf) August 6, 2022