"Indigenous chief shot in head in Brazil’s ‘palm oil war’ region; crisis group launched", 19 May 2023

...A prominent Indigenous leader was shot in the head on May 14 in the Brazilian Amazon, intensifying the cry for justice in a dubbed “palm oil war” region where violence against land activists keeps systematically soaring without punishment, and prompting the launch of a crisis committee to investigate the crime.

...Lúcio Tembé was shot by two gunmen...“He is taking medication to reduce the swelling of his face, [because] he fractured his jaw and burst his eardrums on the right side,” Indigenous leader Miriam Tembé, Lúcio Tembé’s cousin, told Mongabay in a text message...

This is the latest episode of violence in an area facing an outbreak of land conflicts between a major palm oil company and local communities, the so-called “palm oil war,” as reported on by Mongabay since October....

Specifically in the Turé-Mariquita region, Mongabay published in 2021 an in-depth 18-month investigation revealing evidence of water contamination from pesticide use by palm oil company Biopalma — now Brasil BioFuels S.A. (BBF) —  that has impacted not just the Tembé people of Turé-Mariquita but also other Indigenous lands, Afro-Brazilian Quilombola communities, ribeirinhos (traditional riverside communities) and small farmers...

Lúcio Tembé was our local guide and a key source to the investigation...The chief told us the Tembé people were not properly consulted before Biopalma’s oil palm venture got up and running...The investigation helped federal prosecutors obtain a court decision to scrutinize the environmental impacts of pesticide use by BBF in oil palm plantations on Indigenous communities and the environment in the state...

...MPF said “it is possible that this is another episode of violence that the Tembé Indigenous people of Tomé-Açu are suffering because of conflict with palm oil companies in the region, which requires the actions of federal agencies, considering that the dispute involves collective rights of Indigenous peoples.”

BBF did not respond to Mongabay’s request for comment about accusations of its eventual involvement in the attack against Lúcio Tembé...