[ Insects chirping ]
[ Whispering indistinctly ]
[ Speaking foreign language ]
[ Flames crackling ]
♪♪
-It is the front line of the
world's most dangerous battle.
-Obviously this involves
the entire earth.
There are dire consequences
to this.
-Thousands of fires
raging across Brazil.
-The Amazon Rainforest
is taking a beating.
Deforestation rates
have nearly doubled.
-One report claims
that the equivalent
of three soccer fields
are being deforested
every minute in the Amazon.
[ Singing in foreign language ]
-The people who feel
the impact directly
are local indigenous
communities.
-As the world reacts
to the Amazon's destruction,
indigenous Brazilians
are on the front lines
of the fight to save their land.
[ Singing in foreign language ]
[ Engines whirring ]
-We just landed in Imperatriz,
which is a city right on
the outskirts of the Amazon.
Now we have a six-hour
car journey,
and that just gets us right up
to the edge of the forest.
This tribe we're visiting,
called the Guajajara,
say they are under assault
by illegal loggers.
Their ancestral homeland lies on
the eastern tip of the Amazon,
an island of green surrounded
by a sea of deforestation.
-[ Speaking Portuguese ]
-The Guajajara say
the devastation has escalated
since the election of far-right
president Jair Bolsonaro,
known as the Trump
of the Tropics,
who has openly called
for developing the Amazon.
-In response, the tribe is doing
something extremely rare
and extraordinarily dangerous --
tracking down and apprehending
illegal loggers.
After driving for several hours,
we're now crossing
into indigenous territory.
About 20 miles ahead here, we're
gonna have our first meeting
with a group called
the Guardians of the Forest.
♪♪
[ Insects chirping ]
As night falls, we meet the
leader of what is essentially
an indigenous
paramilitary group.
His name is Laércio Guajajara.
He's agreed to let us embed
with his troops
as they launch an extended
patrol through the jungle.
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
[ Engine rumbling ]
[ Dogs barking ]
[ Motorcycle engine stops ]
[ Indistinct talking ]
[ Rooster caws ]
-It's now 4:00 in the morning.
We've been traveling slowly,
picking up members
of the Guardians as we go,
and now we apparently have
a full complement --
north of 20.
And they're about to launch
a dangerous mission.
You guys have a lot of weapons,
but these men may be heavily
armed, too.
Do you get nervous
before you do this?
Over the past two decades,
more than 80 Guajajara
have been killed
defending their land.
♪♪
-And we are here.
-So, we're gonna drive
all the way up here
and then in here.
-Yeah.
-And the loggers are in here?
-Yeah.
-I'm getting a briefing
from Carlos Quintana,
who's a former federal
law-enforcement official
who now volunteers
to help the Guardians,
in part by using
satellite imagery
to track down
the illegal loggers,
or as tribe members
call them, invaders.
This is the heavy,
heavy logging right now.
-Yes.
[ Ignition cranks,
engines rumble ]
[ Radio chirps ]
-Okay.
[ Radio chirps ]
-We've stopped here because they
say they see truck tracks,
fresh tire tracks
from a large truck
that's gone in this way toward
the indigenous territory.
[ Speaking foreign language ]
Just before dawn,
fresh intelligence
leads us to this
tiny indigenous village.
[ Dogs barking ]
[ Dog barks ]
-Under Brazilian law,
tribes do have a legal right
to patrol their own land...
[ Knocking ]
...but for this mission,
the Guajajara have decided
to bring along an agent
from FUNAI,
the Bureau
of Indigenous Affairs.
[ Distant wail ]
[ Chatter ]
[ Dog barking ]
With no answer, the Guardians
move on to the next house.
[ Conversation
in foreign language ]
They're interrogating the chief
in this little village here.
The suspicion is that these
tribe members may be conspiring
or cooperating
with the illegal loggers
to let them onto the land.
-What's going on?
-This guy's the chief,
and he's basically dimeing out
the other families over here
saying that they let
the loggers in.
As the sun comes up,
the Guardians walk over
to the families
who the chief accuses
of helping the loggers.
♪♪
With the villagers claiming
not to know
where the illegal loggers are,
Laércio tells us that the next
step is for the Guardians
to head up into the forest
to see for themselves.
♪♪
♪♪
[ Conversation
in foreign language ]
The Guardians are up
against powerful interests.
First the loggers come in
and cut down
all of the valuable trees.
Then the land is burned
and turned into cattle pasture.
80% of the deforestation
in the Amazon
is the result
of the cattle industry.
Scientists say the Amazon may be
at a crucial tipping point
where instead of mitigating
climate change,
it may begin to exacerbate it.
[ Radio chirps ]
He is helping me
hang my hammock.
After patrolling all night,
it's time to take a rest,
and there's no Motel 6 out here,
so the way to do it
is to put up some hammocks.
-[ Speaks foreign language ]
-These are not the
accommodations that I'm used to,
but when in Rome.
[ Birds chirping, whistling ]
[ Motorcycle rumbling ]
-[ Speaks indistinctly ]
-Our rest is interrupted by
two men on a motorcycle
who aren't supposed to be here.
The men claim to be simply
hunting for food.
[ Conversation
in foreign language ]
[ Engine starts ]
With no proof of illegality,
Laércio lets them go.
[ Gunshot ]
-[ Grunts ]
♪♪
-[ Sings in foreign language ]
-More than 1/3
of the Guajajara's
once sprawling homeland
has now been deforested,
and Laércio says that
under President Bolsonaro,
the pace of these land grabs
has increased.
[ Conversation
in foreign language ]
[ Conversation
in foreign language ]
The tribe has a selective
relationship with modernity.
Laércio's traditional house has
a satellite dish and WI-FI.
On their land, however,
lives another small tribe
called the Awá,
who have had no contact
with the outside world
other than this reported
sighting captured last year
by a member of the Guajajara.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Paulo Guajajara is
Laércio's deputy
and second in command
of the Guardians.
-Whoo!
♪♪
-Night two and the Guardians
are on the move again.
They've received a tip
just hours ago
that illegal loggers
are operating right over here,
and they're gonna check it out.
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
-After failing to find loggers
in the last location,
they believe this lead
is more solid,
and there is a nervous energy
in the air.
[ Laughs ]
[ Engine rumbling ]
-One of the reasons they say
they have to operate
in the middle of the night
is that if they ran this convoy
during the day,
they say it's possible that one
of their fellow tribe members
might tip off
the so-called invaders.
That's the kind of corruption
that runs rampant here.
[ Dogs barking ]
We've just pulled up
on a village
where the Guardians have been
told that two outsiders
were recently hired to guard
an illegal logging operation.
Laércio is wearing
a body camera.
-Whoa, whoa, whoa!
-This is the first time
we've seen
the Guardians get this rough.
These two young men who they
found outside this building
are delivering shifting stories,
at first saying
they they had nothing to do
with the logging operation here,
but then saying they were forced
to work by the boss.
Apparently, the boss is asleep
inside this house.
But all we find is a terrified
indigenous mother.
She admits her family accepts
small amounts of money
from the loggers
to look the other way.
Does it make you sad
to see members of your tribe
working with people
who are destroying the land?
You got a little rough
with these young men over here.
What was your thinking there?
One of the men admits
he is lying...
...and hands over his phone
to the Guardians.
On it, they find this --
videos and pictures
that provide clear evidence
of illegal logging.
♪♪
The Guardians are now ready
to drive up into the woods
and confront the rest
of the loggers,
but first, sleep.
♪♪
[ Rooster caws ]
[ Dog barks ]
[ Engine starts ]
Last night, they busted
the lower-level folks
involved with this illegal
logging operation.
Now they're going up this path
where the actual illegal loggers
will be at work,
and they're fully expecting
these men to be armed.
Among the people
leading the charge, Paulo --
Laércio's number two.
♪♪
♪♪
On motorcycles at the front
of the pack, Laércio and,
it turns out, one of the guards
who was apprehended last night.
Now he's an informant
leading the caravan
to his fellow loggers.
♪♪
♪♪
[ Engine stops, brakes hiss ]
[ Conversation
in foreign language ]
The informant tells Paulo
we're getting close.
He explains there are
multiple logger camps here,
so the Guardians fan out.
Paulo leads the larger group
while Laércio runs point
in a smaller unit.
-[ Blows air ]
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
[ Heavy breathing ]
-Laércio sees something
through the trees.
[ Indistinct whispering ]
♪♪
♪♪
[ Speaking foreign language ]
-Vroom, vroom, vroom!
-Okay, so Laércio's telling us
they have a prisoner.
He's got his hand on his pistol,
another hand on a machete.
We have no idea
what we're getting into.
They're marching this prisoner
deeper into the forest.
-[ Shouting ]
-They're making the prisoner
call out to his colleagues.
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
As they interrogate their
prisoner, it's pretty obvious
that there are
a lot of other people here.
This is not the only guy
at this camp.
I mean, this food is boiling
as we speak.
♪♪
♪♪
Through the woods, Paulo's
search party sees something.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
-Shh!
-Huh?
-Fearing an ambush by the other
loggers still out there,
Paulo's unit tries
to find them first.
[ Conversations
in foreign language ]
[ Speaking foreign language ]
-[ Murmurs ]
-Mm-hmm.
-All told, the Guardians
capture seven loggers.
Proof of the men's activities
are scattered
across the campsite...
...even notes on how much
they cut down
and profits made.
This wood goes to local
cattle ranchers
who build fences
around their area,
and they're selling the stakes
for those fences,
and it even shows right here
how much money they're making.
Are the police gonna come
and help you with this?
[ Conversations
in foreign language ]
Why did you agree
to do this work?
Why did you need to do it?
Were you shocked when you saw
these masked indigenous people
raiding your camp?
These are low-level people
you're dealing with here.
How do you go after the bosses?
If President Bolsonaro could see
this scene right here,
what would you want to
say to him?
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
[ Chatter
in foreign language ]
♪♪
Normally, the Guardians'
next move
would simply be to expel
the loggers from their land,
but Laércio tells us
they're going to do something
they've never done before --
bring the suspects to federal
authorities seven hours away.
First, though, they have to pass
through the town of Arame,
a notorious base
for illegal loggers
just outside
of Guajajara territory.
[ Conversations
in foreign language ]
In 2018, a tribal leader
critical of illegal logging
was found dead here.
The Guardians wait
for the cover of darkness
before heading out
into enemy territory.
♪♪
-By morning, the Guardians
and their prisoners arrive
at federal police headquarters
in the city of Imperatriz.
When the local media show up,
we realize how unprecedented
it is for the Guardians
to have taken the step
of bringing the loggers
to authorities.
Laércio's prediction seems
to have been accurate.
The next day, the prisoners are
released after having been
charged with illegally
entering indigenous territory --
a crime that legal experts
tell us is rarely,
if ever, prosecuted.
The Guardians vow to go
right back to work.
[ Protestors chanting ]
We, meanwhile, arrive back
in New York City
just as the United Nations
Climate Summit is taking place.
As protestors decry Brazil's
environmental policies,
President Bolsonaro fights back.
While Bolsonaro faces
international condemnation
over the fires in the Amazon,
he does have one staunch ally.
-With the gentleman, one of the
greatest election wins
anywhere in the world
as far as I'm concerned,
and he was very proud
of his relationship
with President Trump.
Brazil and the United States
are as close or closer
as they've ever been.
-We request an interview
with Bolsonaro, but are denied.
Instead, the administration
offers up
Environmental Minister
Ricardo Salles,
a man ridiculed
by environmentalists
who call him the fox
in the hen house.
He's been convicted of
an environmental crime
for altering official maps
to benefit mining companies,
a charge he's appealing,
and since taking office,
he has slashed
his agency's budget
and reduced fines for businesses
that commit environmental crime.
We spent some time recently
with an indigenous tribe,
and they told us,
quite strenuously,
that they believe that because
of your boss's rhetoric --
the rhetoric coming out
of this administration --
they're seeing more and more
of what they call invaders.
What would you say to these
people to reassure them?
-Some of the indigenous,
they do want to continue
to be an isolated group,
living their same way of living
that they used before,
and we must guarantee that.
There are some other indigenous
tribes in different places.
They want to have some
sort of economic development.
-You just said some things
that sounded reassuring
about protecting
indigenous tribes
who want to protect
their own way of life.
However, your boss has said
a few things that are --
seem quite hostile
to indigenous communities.
For example, he once praised
the American cavalry
for doing a better job of wiping
out our indigenous tribes
than the Brazilian cavalry
did many years ago.
So, if I'm a member
of an indigenous tribe,
why wouldn't that
make me nervous?
-Well, first of all, we need
to make the political statement
sometimes apart from what
really happened in government.
-Let me see if I understand
you correctly.
You're saying,
"Okay, so Bolsonaro
said this awful thing.
It's a political statement."
So in other words,
don't listen to Bolsonaro.
Trust you and your actions.
-No, not me.
He is the big leader.
He's the president
who's doing the correct things.
He didn't do anything wrong,
although sometimes,
if people take some comments
out of the context --
-Well, how could you take
that out of context?
It's --
-Depends.
The problem is when sometimes
people put words in his mouth,
things that he didn't say.
-In terms of the future
of indigenous populations,
the types of things I've heard
from President Bolsonaro
seem to indicate
that he really wants to just
integrate them into society.
-For those who want it, yes.
-Only for those who want to?
Because he's used terms like,
you know,
they're living in a zoo.
-People sometimes change
his phrase
or his comments
into another situation.
I heard from him many,
many times him saying,
"We must guarantee
their right of choice."
-So, for these folks,
the indigenous tribe
that I spent time with,
can you assure them
that they can go on
protecting their way of life
and that the government
has their back?
-Definitely.
If it's --
it's the group's decision
to continue their way of life
exactly as it is,
and some sort of assurance
that they need
from the federal government,
that's for sure.
♪♪
♪♪
[ Speaking foreign language ]
♪♪
♪♪
-[ Sniffles ]
[ Cries ]
[ Sniffles ]
[ Speaking foreign language ]
[ Crying, sobbing ]
[ Conversation
in foreign language ]
-[ Sobbing ]
[ Singing ]
[ Clapping ]
[ Chattering, singing ]
-[ Crying ]
[ Crying ]
♪♪
-Despite his serious wounds,
Laércio stayed only briefly
in the hospital
for fear of being hunted down
in the city.
He was moved to a safe house
somewhere on indigenous land.
Law enforcement visited
the Guajajaras
in a sign of solidarity
and promised to bring those
responsible to justice.
[ Singing in foreign language ]
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
