Indigenous Communities in Peru’s Amazon Warn of Brazil’s Comando Vermelho Encroachment

Indigenous communities in Yurúa raise alarm over criminal incursions

Indigenous leaders in the Yurúa district, along the remote Peru–Brazil border, have reported an increasing presence of members of Brazil’s armed criminal organization Comando Vermelho in their territories. Local organizations say the group is exploiting what they describe as a "state vacuum," leaving communities vulnerable to drug trafficking, illegal logging and other illicit activities that threaten their physical safety, cultural integrity and territorial rights.

Reports compiled by the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), the Regional Organization AIDESEP Ucayali and the Association of Native Communities of the Yurúa-Sheshea District document multiple worrying incidents in the Yurúa and Breu river basins.

Residents report early-morning landings of small planes on improvised airstrips, the appearance of unfamiliar camps within Indigenous reserves, and unmonitored boat traffic carrying cargo — signs of criminal networks operating with relative impunity.

After a large police operation in late October targeting organized crime in Rio de Janeiro, community leaders say they are seeing signs that senior members of Comando Vermelho may be attempting to relocate to neighboring countries, including Peru. Former Interior Minister Rubén Vargas told Radio Exitosa that the group is conducting criminal operations in Peru, particularly along Amazon River routes, and has expanded activity into Pasco and Huánuco regions near Puerto Inca — a noted hub for trafficking and illegal mining.

Indigenous organizations are demanding immediate, coordinated action from the Peruvian government. Their five priority requests are:

• Establish and maintain a permanent, visible security presence in border areas;
• Coordinate operations between the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense;
• Provide protection for Indigenous leaders and community members at risk;
• Promote sustainable, alternative economic opportunities to reduce reliance on illicit economies;
• Legally recognize and support a "Transborder Indigenous Guard" to monitor and protect the frontier with Brazil.

Many specifics about Comando Vermelho’s cross-border operations remain hard to verify because of the region’s remoteness, the clandestine nature of criminal networks and the lack of disaggregated official data. Nevertheless, Indigenous organizations and regional authorities underscore the urgency of coordinated state action to protect communities and Peru’s Amazonian territories.

Sources: Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), Regional Organization AIDESEP Ucayali, Association of Native Communities of the Yurúa-Sheshea District, Radio Exitosa, regional press reports.