The Federal Public Ministry in Paraíba (MPF) will open a procedure to investigate a shooting attack at the Marilene Dantas camp, linked to the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), on the South Coast of Paraíba. The procedure was confirmed this Monday (9) by prosecutor José Godoy.
According to the MPF, the procedure will listen to the families of the settlement and will relate the case to others that, according to the agency, have been happening recurrently in the area. In addition to the gunshots, nine shacks where family members lived were set on fire in the attack, in the city of Pedras de Fogo, last Sunday (8).
"We are already establishing a procedure to monitor, we will listen to the families, relate these cases of violence that are not isolated, and have been happening frequently, every semester, at least two, three months, we have cases of threats, violence being reported, so we will list all these cases and monitor the issue closely", said José Godoy.
The procedure was confirmed after a meeting of the State Commission for the Prevention of Violence in the Countryside and City in Paraíba (Coecv). The Civil Police are also investigating the case in the settlement.
The National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra) also confirmed that there will be effective monitoring of actions in the area of security, in addition to forwarding a collective request by various bodies regarding expropriation for social interest of the area in question.
Attack resulted in death threats
The Civil Police carried out inspections at the Marilene Dantas Camp, linked to the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), on the South Coast of Paraíba, after an attack that left nine shacks on fire. According to police chief Haas, armed men shot towards the houses, threatened to kill residents and shot at a transformer to interrupt the electricity supply.
The delegate reported that he received, around 9 am on Sunday (8), a video sent by a person linked to the MST. According to him, the images showed a gunshot entering one of the houses, very close to where children were sleeping.
"A person linked to the MST got in touch with me and shared a video that I found shocking, of a gunshot entering one of the houses, very close to where the children were sleeping. So, we immediately began to develop a way to carry out this investigation on a large scale," he said.
According to the delegate, the group entered the camp, shooting in the air and threatening the residents. The suspects reportedly said they would kill people, set fire to houses and prevent residents from leaving the area. The electrical power transformer was also the target of shots.
"A group that we still don't know who they are, why they came in, firing firearms into the air, saying that they were going to kill people, that they were going to set fire to houses, that no one was supposed to leave [...] Nobody saw how they got in, there was no sound of a car, there was no sound of a motorbike, there was no trace of a motorbike or a car, so the authorship is still a bit mysterious", he explained.
To carry out the investigations, the Civil Police mobilized two teams from the Scientific Police. The work included a fire investigation and another for microtraces. Investigators were also called, and the Military Police participated in the work.
Despite the shooting and fires, there were no reports of injured residents. Until the last update of this report, no one had been arrested.
What is Marilene Dantas Camp?
Campamento Marilene Dantas is home to around 40 families and was occupied in April 2013. According to the MST, residents work with family farming and food production in the area.
In a statement, the movement stated that families have faced threats and episodes of violence since the beginning of the occupation. According to the organization, members of the camp have already been victims of physical attacks on previous occasions.
The MST classified the episode as part of a sequence of intimidations against the families and demanded the investigation of the case, the identification of those responsible and measures by public security bodies to guarantee the integrity of the residents.
