The Ministry of Justice and Public Security determined, this Saturday (11), that the Federal Police (PF) launch an investigation to investigate the attack on the settlement Olga Benário, of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST)
Located in Tremembé (SP), in the Paraíba Valley, approximately 140 kilometers from the capital of São Paulo, the settlement was attacked by armed men on Friday night (10). According to the MST, two settlers were shot dead and at least six others were injured, some seriously.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security reported that a PF team, with agents, an expert and papilloscopist, is already traveling to Tremembé. Furthermore, in the letter sent to Andrei Passos, general director of the corporation, substitute minister Manoel Carlos de Almeida Neto, reiterates the information that, around 11 pm this September (10), armed “criminals” invaded the settlement and They shot at “farmer families” who live in the settlement duly regularized by the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra).
“In view of the above, I order the Federal Police to open a criminal investigation to investigate the facts narrated”, reinforces the minister.
According to the MST, the attackers, who have not yet been identified, used “several cars and motorbikes” and arrived shooting when most of the settlers were sleeping, including children and the elderly. Amid the confusion, two settlers were shot and did not resist: Valdir do Nascimento, known as Valdirzão, aged 52, and Gleison Barbosa de Carvalho, 28. Nascimento was one of the leaders of the settlement. Members of the movement even announced a third death, not confirmed by the authorities, and the initial post was deleted from social media.
Consulted by Brazil Agencythe state health department confirmed that at least six injured people were treated in public health units in the region, including the Regional Hospital of Vale do Paraíba – Sociedade Beneficente São Camilo, in Taubaté, but reported that, as it was an incident police officer and also because it does not have authorization from the victims or their relatives, it is not authorized to provide details about the health status of the patients who remain hospitalized.
Protection
Given the repercussions, the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship (Mdhc) announced that it will offer assistance and protection to leaders and other residents of the Olga Benário Settlement, from the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST).
“The MDHC, through the Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Communicators and Environmentalists, is seeking more information about the events that occurred and will offer assistance to the leaders of the settlement and its community”, announced the ministry, in a statement released this afternoon .
Also in a statement, the Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture (MDA), Paulo Teixeira, repudiated the “attack carried out by as yet unidentified criminals”. “The MDA repudiates the crime and expresses solidarity and support for the agrarian reform settlers, especially the families of Valdir do Nascimento and the young Gleison Barbosa Carvalho, brutally murdered in this case”.
Recurrence
Together with the São Paulo State Police Ombudsman’s Office, the National Human Rights (Cndh) and the Defense of Human Rights of the State of São Paulo (Condepe) councils expressed sadness and indignation, repudiating the “violent attack” against the settled families.
“We want to provide full support and solidarity to the families of the victims, their friends and the injured, in this unacceptable criminal incursion, still under investigation”, expressed the entities, regretting that attacks of this nature against social movements, especially those fighting for access to productive lands , are recurrent. According to data from the National Human Rights Ombudsmanbetween 2020 and 2024, 2,332 reports of violations were registered due to issues related to agrarian conflicts, environmental crimes and/or the actions of communicators and human rights defenders, which corresponds to more than one report per day.
“We make a public commitment to the families and settlers that we will follow this incident until it is completely clarified: we will demand a qualified investigation and exemplary punishment of those responsible for this terrorist attack on the democratic state with an act of terrorism” added the entities, arguing that it is necessary “put an end to this spiral of violence”, whose victims are, on an urban level, the peripheral and poor population, and, in the countryside, settlers and movements in defense of the less privileged”.
The incident also generated reactions from parliamentarians from different parties, including state deputy Simão Pedro (PT-SP), who attributed the “attack” to criminal organizations that, according to him, “want to take over the agrarian reform territories”.
