Criminal networks spread across the Amazon U.S. military response may increase violence, experts say

Hope after a climate conference? It’s rare. But that’s what Santa Marta delivered. For the first time, countries focused on the root of the crisis: fossil fuels, not just emissions. 🧵 What changed:

Indigenous Peoples in the Ecuadorian Amazon are saying NO to new oil rounds on their ancestral lands. The government is moving forward anyway. This is about land, rights, and our global climate. Stand in solidarity to stop oil expansion in the Amazon. ✊🌿 amazonwatch.org/take-action/...

The Tapajós River is not a shipping route. It is life. In this powerful op-ed, Alessandra Korap Munduruku, Munduruku leader, shares how her people stopped the privatization of their river & why the fight is not over. Read & share this frontline account of what’s at stake in the Amazon.

Join us for the 13th annual Anti-Chevron Day. Rise for a future beyond Chevron, one rooted in justice, regeneration, & community power. 11am Indigenous Opening Ceremony at Keller Beach 12pm Festival at Judge Carroll Park 1pm Rolling Festival March There will be live music, art, & speakers.

Indigenous organizations across the Amazon are sending a letter to the U.N. today warning that organized crime is rapidly expanding, fueling violence, environmental destruction, and undermining Indigenous governance.

Indigenous leaders at the U.N. sounded the alarm: organized crime is taking over the Amazon, and militarization is making it worse. The solution is Indigenous governance, rights, & community-led protection. A new report, Amazon Under Siege, shows what’s at stake & what works.

At the Peru–Brazil border, an abandoned checkpoint is now run by Indigenous communities, not as protest, but for survival. 🧵

Gold prices rise. So does violence in the Amazon. Indigenous leaders warn: global conflict is driving illegal mining, toxic rivers, and attacks on communities. This isn’t development, it’s destruction. 📖 Read & stand with those defending the forest ✊ amazonwatch.org/news/2026/05...

Belo Sun’s mega-mine is moving forward without Free, Prior & Informed Consent from Indigenous & riverine peoples. Hidden expansion plans & fragmented licensing weaken protections & increase risks in the Volta Grande do Xingu. The Amazon cannot afford this! #ForaBeloSun sumauma.com/en/belo-sun-...

"the global conversation has shifted from whether to phase out oil, gas and coal to how to do it, with financing emerging as one of the biggest obstacles." - @sjgrattan.bsky.social @apnews.com #EndFossilFuels apnews.com/article/clim...

Yesterday, the @stand.earth team together with @amazonwatch.org @banktrack.bsky.social @oilchange.org, Parliamentarians for Fossil Free Future & incredible frontline leaders from across Amazonia hosted a dialogue on how public & private finance could protect the Amazon from fossil fuel extraction

"In regions with few legal ways to earn a living, people are left with impossible choices. ‘It runs the entire economy.’ - Carlos Fernandez of Amazon Watch. A powerful reminder of the deeper realities behind drug policy." Read the article: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/w...

This #EarthDay, support Indigenous Earth defenders protecting the Amazon in the name of all of us on this planet. 🌱 Double your impact while the match lasts. For the Amazon. For its peoples. For Mother Earth. amazonwatch.org/donate

Will you be at the 37th Annual Bioneers Conference in Berkeley? 🌿 Amazon Watch will be there with partners from the Amazon — join us! 📅 Thursday, March 26 | 3–4:15pm Fossil Fuel Phase Out and a Just Transition from California to the Amazon 🎟️ Register and use code 360b20 for 20% off your ticket.

Hey! So, if I'm slow to respond (or maybe even absent) for a bit, it's bc I'm busy learnin' now that the @climatebase.bsky.social fellowship is under way! 🤓 The first week was clarifying + galvanizing. I'm so excited to meet many amazing fellows! Reflections: virtuistic.beehiiv.com/p/the-nerder...

“Ecuador should take immediate steps to suspend oil extraction in Block 43 and fully comply with the court’s ruling to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Yasuní national park.” @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

The Munduruku people of the Tapajós River have been fighting to protect their river and their territories for generations. Katô: Dreams of Dark Earth follows their struggle for land and clean water. Join the premier TOMORROW. 🎬 theeternalsong.org/kato/

We mourn the passing of Luis Francisco Yanza Angamarca — founder of the Amazon Defense Front, champion of justice for communities impacted by Chevron's toxic legacy in Ecuador, and our dear friend and colleague for over 40 years. May he rest in peace, power, respect, and dignity.

30 Indigenous women from 7 Amazon nationalities traveled to Ecuador's northern oil region to witness the environmental damage left by decades of extraction — preparing their communities to resist further drilling. 📹 @sjgrattan.bsky.social @apnews.com apnews.com/video/indige...

🎉 Amazon Watch turns 30 today. For three decades, one truth has guided our work: the most effective way to protect the Amazon is to stand with Indigenous peoples who have defended these forests for generations. More voices and stories to come all year. 🌿

140+ Indigenous ppls occupied Brazil's federal agency FUNAI in Altamira, demanding suspension of Belo Sun's gold mine license on the Xingu River. ✊ amazonwatch.org/news/2026/0311-amazonian-indigenous-women-occupy-federal-agency-to-demand-suspension-of-belo-sun-minings-license

📣 In Condorcanqui, 800+ Indigenous girls & boys are survivors of sexual abuse. When the state tried to shut down the prosecutors' offices handling their cases, Awajún Wampís women marched — and forced a reversal. They are still waiting for justice. ⚖️✊ youtube.com/shorts/UGniJ...

Indigenous ppls warned that Belo Monte would cause social & ecological devastation — including deformed fish in the Xingu River. Regulators pushed ahead anyway. Now the dam faces a contentious license renewal as Amazon flows continue to fall. news.mongabay.com/2026/03/fall...

Criminal networks are invading the Amazon, displacing and threatening Indigenous communities. But resistance is alive. 🌿✊ Read the full story ⬇️ amazonwatch.org/news/2026/03...

For #WomensHistoryMonth, join us at the #WECAN Women’s Momentum Assembly for a Just Fossil Fuel Phaseout to strategize and generate momentum for phasing out oil, gas, and coal, and building a just world! 📅 March 31 | Virtual & Free 🔗 tinyurl.com/woma-2026

Awajún & Wampis women in Peru's Amazon turned grief into power — compelling the state to reverse a rollback of justice services for sexual violence survivors. A powerful story for #WomenHistorysMonth. 🌿 Read the full story ⬇️ amazonwatch.org/news/2026/03...

We support our friends at @greenpeaceusa.bsky.social who will challenge this outrageous decision in ETP's SLAPP suit against them. “Speaking out against corporations that cause environmental harm should never be deemed unlawful.” - Marco Simons, Greenpeace. www.greenpeace.org/usa/greenpea...

"A victory for life.” That was the triumphal message from Indigenous campaigners in the Brazilian Amazon this week after they staved off a threat to the Tapajós River by occupying a grain terminal operated by Cargill, the biggest privately owned company in the US www.theguardian.com/environment/...

#EyeOnTheAmazon from @amazonmiller.bsky.social critiques the “Donroe Doctrine” as US policy pushes deeper into the Amazon region & beyond, urging a foreign policy rooted in justice & solidarity, not interventionism. Read more: #ForeignPolicy #Amazon #ClimateJustice amazonwatch.org/news/2026/02...

Benicia has some of the highest cancer and asthma rates in the country. This is why we need a Make Polluters Pay super fund to support communities like Benicia to transition to clean industries. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

This baseless SLAPP suit will never stand up. Greenpeace did absolutely nothing wrong. The “evidence” in court was presented to a blatantly biased jury & the trial was mishandled. Energy Transfer’s CEO Warren confessed he just wanted to hurt GP. Shameful. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

BREAKING: Brazil Court Revives Belo Sun’s Controversial Amazon Gold Mine as Indigenous Communities File Misconduct Complaint amazonwatch.org/news/2026/02...

Illegal gold mining is poisoning the Amazon. Mercury contamination is devastating Indigenous communities in Peru, threatening health, rivers, and food systems. This is the real cost of unchecked extraction. apnews.com/article/peru...

🎉🎉After more than a month blockading Cargill's grain terminal, Indigenous peoples in Brazil have won a major victory. President Lula has revoked Decree 12,600/2025 🧵👇

“Rivers are not export channels: They are a source of life, sustenance, memory, and identity..” Indigenous peoples wrote in a letter, demanding Brazil revoke Decree 12,600, which would open Amazon rivers to dredging and threaten water and fisheries. www.reuters.com/world/americ...

In Avatar, the Na’vi fight to defend their home. In the Amazon, that fight is real. A new video featuring Jim Cameron, Raoni Metuktire, and Alessandra Korap Munduruku highlights Indigenous resistance to industrial agribusiness and mega infrastructure. Press release 👉 amazonwatch.org/news/2026/02...

⏰ Indigenous protesters have intercepted a grain barge on the #Tapajós River, intensifying calls to revoke Decree 12,600 and defend Amazonian rivers from privatization. Read more 👇 amazonwatch.org/news/2026/02...

"Hundreds of protestors are blocking a key Amazon soybean port in clash over river dredging." - @bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

NEW - Big Oil spent $34 million lobbying Sacramento in 2025 to stonewall and roll back common sense climate and public health policy. Enough is enough. It's time for California to say no to the influence of dirty fossil fuel corporations in Sacramento. lastchancealliance.org/big-oil-spen...

15 yrs ago today Indigenous & campesino communities won a landmark victory when @Chevron was found liable for $9.5 billion for DELIBERATELY polluting the Amazon by dumping BILLIONS of gallons of toxic waste. The gross polluter has since refused to pay. @ran.org amazonwatch.org/take-action/...

"Many women end up losing their children," says Alessandra Korap, a community leader of the Munduruku people from the Brazilian Amazon. "Either they can't get pregnant, or they lose their [foetus] over time. So, women are afraid of getting pregnant." news.sky.com/story/women-...

[email protected] inspired hope for the Amazon. Now is the moment to honor that promise by standing with Indigenous peoples and revoking Decree 12,600, which threatens Amazon rivers for agribusiness profit. Defend the Tapajós. Protect life. #nãoaodecreto12600

We've worked with @amazonwatch.org to hold Chevron accountable for the gallons of toxic waste they dumped into the Ecuadorian #Amazon. A court ruled that they owe $9.5 billion – but they never paid it. Now, Chevron is trying to get the Ecuadorian government to pay THEM! https://bit.ly/4tuWRKx

Learn more than just what is in the headlines about the Indigenous blockade of Cargill along the Tapajos river in the Amazon: kpfa.org/episode/carg...

Indigenous resistance continues in Santarém, Pará, Brazil, as communities defend the #Tapajós river. An indefinite blockade of Cargill is holding the line against river privatization and destructive dredging. #SalveOTapajós #NãoAoDecreto1260 amazonwatch.org/news/2026/02...

UPDATE from the #Tapajós mobilization🚨The blockade at the Cargill port continues. Indigenous peoples’ demands remain clear and unmet: cancel dredging and immediately revoke Decree 12,600/2025, which paves the way for river privatization under the Lula administration.

We launched a NEW action with our allies at @ran.org: Chevron has left a trail of devastation, including oil spills, climate catastrophes, and toxic pollution. It's time to hold Chevron accountable and prevent them from doing even more harm! #TakeAction actionnetwork.org/letters/hold...

Chevron's extraction in Venezuela is bad for the entire planet, and even more so for communities in Mississippi. "But in Pascagoula, Miss., home to one of Chevron’s largest refineries, some residents worry that this could lead to more pollution." www.nytimes.com/video/climat...

BREAKING: Indigenous Peoples Block Access to Santarém Airport in Protest of Tapajós River Dredging "Revoke it now. I’m 50 years old and my concern is for our children and grandchildren. What will be left because of greed?” said Chief Gilson Tupinambá. amazonwatch.org/news/2026/02...