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<\/a><\/p>\nThey also seized mercury, gold and ammunition, and destroyed fuel and other equipment used by miners in an area known as Ouro Mil, controlled by Brazil\u00b4s most feared criminal organization, known as the First Command of the Capital, according to federal investigations.<\/p>\n
Since taking office this year, President\u00a0Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva\u00a0has sought to crack down on environmental violations, particularly illegal mining in\u00a0Yanomami land, Brazil\u2019s largest Indigenous territory. In recent years, an estimated 20,000 prospectors contaminated vital waterways with mercury used to separate gold. They have\u00a0disrupted traditional Indigenous life, brought disease and caused widespread famine.<\/p>\n
The environment agency, known as Ibama, has seized seven Starlink terminals in Yanomami land over the past five weeks, the agency\u2019s press office said.<\/p>\n
Illegal miners have long used satellite internet to communicate and coordinate, but until now that entailed sending a technician, usually by plane, to install a heavy, fixed antenna that cannot be carried off when mining sites move or are raided. And the connection was slow and unstable, especially on rainy days.<\/p>\n
Starlink \u2013 which first became available in Brazil last year and has spread rapidly \u2013 solved those problems. Installation is do-it-yourself, the equipment works even on the move, speed is as fast as in Brazil\u00b4s large cities and it works during storms.<\/p>\n
Starlink has long viewed the Amazon as an opportunity. That was underscored by\u00a0Musk\u2019s visit\u00a0to Brazil last May, when he met with then-President Jair Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuper excited to be in Brazil for launch of Starlink for 19,000 unconnected schools in rural areas & environmental monitoring of Amazon,\u201d Musk tweeted at the time.<\/p>\n
With high demand for internet, dozens of the riverside town\u2019s 21,000 residents flock to Alves\u2019 hotel each day. Its balcony is a meeting point for teenagers who spend hours playing online games on their phones.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt made a revolution in our city,\u201d Alves said.<\/p>\n
A world away, in Ukraine, Starlink has yielded advantages on the battlefield in its war with Russia.<\/p>\n
Ukraine has received some 24,000 Starlink terminals that allow continued internet in the most vulnerable regions of the southeast even amid ongoing Russian shelling. In large Ukrainian cities, authorities have set up \u201cpoints of resilience\u201d that offer free internet along with hot beverages.<\/p>\n
The benefits of connectivity were immediately apparent to bad actors in the Amazon, Hugo Loss, operations coordinator for Brazil\u00b4s environment agency, told the AP in a phone interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis technology is extremely fast and really improves the ability to manage an illegal mine,\u201d Loss said. \u201cYou can manage hundreds of mining sites without ever setting foot in one.\u201d<\/p>\n
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