RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil's new government has launched what is being billed as a mega operation to root out illegal miners from an indigenous reserve in the Amazon. The illegal miners have polluted rivers and land in the reserve, leading to widespread hunger and disease.
The new government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made the announcement about the massive operation at the end of January, in the hope of removing as many as 20,000 illegal gold miners now believed to be on the Yanomami reserve in northern Brazil. The Brazilian minister of defense, José Múcio, will travel to the region later in the week to oversee the operation's progress.
