The São Paulo Civil Police reported that they arrested on Saturday afternoon (11) one of the suspects of killing two people who were participating in a settlement of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in Tremembé, in the interior of the state.
The crimes occurred on Friday night (10) in the Olga Benário settlement, on Estrada Canegal, around 11 pm. According to MST, Valdir do Nascimento, 52-year-old Valdirzão, and Gleison Barbosa de Carvalho, 28, were shot dead. Nascimento was one of the leaders of the settlement. The action also left six people injured, who needed to be taken to hospital.
According to the police, the detainee, who is identified as the intellectual mastermind of the crime, is known as Nero do Piseiro and already had a criminal record for illegal possession of a firearm. He was recognized by witnesses who saw the criminals arriving at the scene in cars and motorcycles.
The case was registered at the Taubaté Sectional Police Station as murder, attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm.
According to the police, the line of investigation, which is the responsibility of the municipality’s Specialized Criminal Investigations Police Station (Deic), is that the motivation for the crimes was the dispute over land in the settlement area.
According to the MST, the settlement area attracts real estate interest due to its privileged location. “The Olga Benário Settlement faces an intense dispute with real estate speculation aimed at leisure tourism, due to its strategic location in the Vale do Paraíba region. For years, settled families have been suffering constant threats and coercion,” the movement said on its website,
The MST criticizes that “even after several complaints made to state and federal agencies”, there was no effective response to guarantee the safety and permanence of these families in the territory.
Located in Tremembé (SP), in the Paraíba Valley, around 140 kilometers from the capital of São Paulo, the settlement was attacked by 10 men, according to MST. They used five cars and two motorcycles.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security ordered the Federal Police to launch an investigation into the attack. The ministry reported that a PF team, with agents, an expert and papilloscopist, has already been moved to Tremembé.
