Brazil’s most desecrated Indigenous territory, the Sararé region, has been ravaged by illegal gold mining. The area, home to the Nambiquara people, has been devastated by the use of heavy-duty hydraulic excavators and the suspected involvement of heavily armed organized crime groups. A total of about 17.3 sq miles (44.8km) have been destroyed since the gold rush began, with 4% of its forests lost between January 2024 and August 2025.
The crisis in Sararé began during the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, who emboldened a historic gold rush with his anti-Indigenous rhetoric. However, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has pledged to eradicate illegal mining in Indigenous territories and has launched a crackdown on the industry. Nilton Tubino, Lula’s eviction tsar, has spearheaded the effort, leading a team of security forces to raid and destroy mining camps in the region.
The Guardian spent two days touring the destruction in Sararé with government forces, witnessing the scale of the devastation firsthand. The area is now largely deserted, with the once-bustling mining camps reduced to rubble. However, despite the crackdown, some trespassers still lurk in the region, and the threat of violence remains.
The Nambiquara people have a long history of facing outside aggression, dating back to the 1730s when gold was first discovered in the surrounding hills. The region has been plagued by disease, violence, and exploitation, with the population dwindling from 10,000 at the start of the 20th century to just 600 today. Tubino believes that Lula’s re-election is crucial to continuing the crackdown on illegal mining and deforestation, safeguarding Indigenous and traditional communities in the Amazon.
However, with the presidential election looming, the future of the region remains uncertain. For now, Tubino and his team remain committed to their mission, despite the dangers and challenges they face. As Tubino quipped, ’Holidays?
There’s no such thing as holidays,’ he sat in the wreckage of a recently destroyed mining shack, mosquitoes swarming around his black sleeves.
