With an increase in environmental crimes and 59% of the population living in municipalities with a strong presence of drug trafficking factions, the Legal Amazon is currently one of the main challenges in public security in the country.
Each of the 60,000 military police officers in the region would be responsible for 83 km², almost four times the national average, and the scarce structure of civil police makes it difficult to hold criminals accountable in court.
Members of factions such as the Red Command and the First Capital Command are present in 178 of the 772 municipalities in the region.
While deforestation increased by 85.3% from 2018 to 2022 in the region composed of nine states, the trade in hardwood grew by 37.6% in the same period. Cocaine seizures by state police jumped 194% from 2019 to 2022, with 20 tons seized in the last year. Weapons seizures increased by 91% in the period.
The data comes from the study "Violence Cartographies in the Amazon," conducted in partnership between the Brazilian Forum of Public Security and the Mãe Crioula Institute and will be presented at COP28, the UN climate conference.