Criminal networks and the accelerating destruction of Mato Grosso’s Amazon forest |
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon region has long been driven by illegal logging, land grabbing, and weak enforcement. But in the western Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, authorities and environmental groups now warn that the nature of this crime is changing in a dangerous way. What was once largely the work of small-scale loggers and local actors has increasingly become the domain of organized criminal groups with money, logistics, and even armed capacity to operate deep inside protected forests.
Recent data illustrates the scale and urgency of the problem. According to a report by the environmental non-profit Instituto Centro de Vida (ICV), Mato Grosso lost nearly 50,000 hectares of forest to illegal logging in just one year, from August 2023 through July 2024. Even more alarming is where this deforestation is taking place: protected indigenous territories and conservation units are now under growing assault as criminals exhaust remaining forest resources on private land.
The ICV report shows that illegal logging in protected areas increased by 85 percent compared with the previous year. This surge signals more than a simple increase in activity; it points to a shift in how deforestation is organized and financed. The Mato Grosso State Secretariat for the Environment confirmed this trend, stating that structured criminal organizations are now playing a central role.
“Today, there is a greater presence of structured criminal organizations with logistical, financial, and even armed capacity to operate in remote and sensitive areas,” the secretariat told the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
These groups are capable of moving heavy machinery, bribing or intimidating local actors, and navigating difficult terrain far from urban centers. Their........