Pantelhó, Mexico
Armed vigilantes march: Members of the indigenous Tzotzil and Tzeltal peoples in southern Mexico have formed an anti-cartel militia, accusing local authorities of being in cahoots with organized crime and failing to protect their communities. More than 100 members of the Self-Defense Forces of the Machete People paraded around the town of Pantelhó this week, wearing face coverings and brandishing assault rifles and machetes as locals cheered them on. A masked spokesperson for the group, which uses crossed machetes as its emblem, said the cartels have murdered some 200 residents of Pantelhó in recent years, and that hundreds of families have fled. “Once we have freed [the town] from the professional killers and drug traffickers,” the spokesperson said, “we as self-defense forces will withdraw, because we do not seek money or power for ourselves.”
Tapajós River, Brazil
Poisoning the Amazon: Levels of toxic mercury are rocketing in the waters of the Amazon rain forest and poisoning the indigenous people who live there, a consequence of President Jair Bolsonaro’s open encouragement of illegal gold mining. An estimated 110 tons of the metal was used in 2019 and 2020 to extract gold in the region, according to a new study by the Federal University of
Minas Gerais. Tests on hair samples from members of the relatively isolated Yanomami people—whose main source of protein is fish from the polluted rivers—found they had mercury levels eight times the amount considered safe for humans. Mercury poisoning, especially in children, can cause intellectual disabilities, vision loss, and other neurological damage. “Even if a mine is deactivated today, the mercury used there will continue to contaminate,” said public health specialist Sandra Hacon. “There is no way to mitigate this.”