Two months ago, more than 500 people invaded Brazil’s Ituna/Itatá Indigenous Territory in Pará, northern Brazil, where the isolated Igarapé Ipiaçava Indigenous people live. In response, Brazil has deployed the National Public Security Force for a period of 180 days to support the country’s Indigenous Affairs Agency (Funai) as it works to protect the Indigenous territory.
“The deployment of the National Force is already underway,” a Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) spokesperson told Mongabay over email. “Troops are already in the region.”
In August 2026, a new state law in Pará created the Bacajaí Environmental Protection Area (APA Bacajaí), which allows private landowners to build homes and raise livestock in the area. However, the federal government maintains that the state law is invalid since the APA Bacajaí completely overlaps with the federally protected Indigenous land in Pará state. In the weeks after the law was approved, hundreds of people invaded the Indigenous land, smashing through security gates, tearing down warning signs and setting up camps inside.
A Mongabay investigation published in October reveals how the fast-tracked law helped legitimize and encourage hundreds of people to invade the territory. A coordinated social media campaign involving politicians and influential agribusiness figures also helped push the invasion, Mongabay found.
The investigation also found a sharp increase in forest fires, jumping from zero alerts in August to 23 signs of fires inside Ituna/Itatá by Oct. 13.
On Aug. 26, a federal court ordered the government to deploy a security team within 48 hours to respond to the invasion. However, action couldn’t be taken until the federal government signed the authorization two months later, on Oct. 29, and published it in Brazil’s official gazette on Nov. 3.
The National Force had previously operated in the territory, but its authorization expired in July 2026 without renewal. In a judicial case file, the government argues that to redeploy the security forces, it needed authorization from Pará’s government, which hadn’t cooperated.
“The continuation or resumption of the National Force’s deployment depends on the issuance of a new administrative act, which also requires authorization from the requesting State Governments,” the MJSP spokesperson said.
Funai maintains permanent monitoring and protection activities in Ituna/Itatá to combat invasions and illegal activities. The agency told Mongabay in an email that it will play a central role in the operation and is responsible for providing the necessary logistical infrastructure. The National Force’s role is to provide security support for Funai’s operations, rather than independently determine territorial protection priorities.
Funai said it could not disclose deployment schedules and field tactics for strategic and safety reasons.
Banner image: Images of fires taken during flyovers over the Ituna/Itatá Indigenous Territory in 2019. Image by Fábio Nascimento/Greenpeace.
