“10 More Landless Workers Massacred in Brazil-The victims were members of the League of Poor Campesinos”, 26 May 2017
 
Ten campesinos (nine men and one woman) were killed by Brazil's military and civilian police on…[24 May]...The massacre occurred on the Santa Lucia farm in...Pau D'Arco, Para as part of an eviction order led by state forces. According to the Pastoral Land Commission, CPT, the victims were members of the League of Poor Campesinos. Their identities have yet to be released…[P]olice said they were met with a barrage of gunfire as soon as they arrived at the farm. However, survivors, witnesses and victims' family members contradicted these claims, stating that the police arrived on the scene shooting and made no attempt to inform anybody of a legal order. Some stated that the deceased female had a bullet wound in her back. MST released a statement indicating that the police action was ratified by judge Erichson Alves who, infringing upon the National Agrarian Ombudsman Code, ordered the military and civilian police to retake the farm…The latest massacre on the Santa Lucia farm occured amidst an escalation of rural conflict and violence throughout Brazil. This past April, ten more campesinos, including elders and young people, were murdered in an encampment situated in Colniza…[,]...Mato Grosso…[T]he massacre was committed by “hooded” gunmen. CPT informed that land conflicts are common in Mato Grosso…[:]... “farm owners in the region operate a network of henchmen who frighten campesinos and force them off their land.”...