Brazilian federal agents aboard three helicopters descended on an illegal mining site on Tuesday in the Amazon rainforest. They were met with gunfire, and the shooters escaped, leaving behind an increasingly familiar find for authorities: Starlink internet units.
Starlink, a division of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has almost 4,000 low-orbit satellites lined up across the skies, connecting people in remote corners of the Amazon and providing a crucial advantage to Ukranian forces on the battlefield. The lightweight, high-speed internet system has also proved a new and valuable tool for Brazil’s illegal miners, with reliable service for coordinating logistics, receiving advance warning of law enforcement raids and making payments without flying back to the city.
Since taking office this year, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has empowered authorities to crack down on environmental violations, particularly illegal mining in Yanomami land, Brazil’s largest Indigenous territory. In recent years, an estimated 20,000 prospectors contaminated vital waterways with mercury used to separate gold. They have disrupted traditional Indigenous life, brought disease and caused widespread famine.
Starlink has long viewed the Amazon as an opportunity. That was underscored by Musk’s visit to Brazil last May. He met with then-President Jair Bolsonaro and the region was at the center of their conversation. With high demand for internet, dozens of the riverside town’s 21,000 residents flock to Alves’ hotel each day. Its balcony is a meeting point for teenagers who spend hours playing online games on their phones.A world away, in Ukraine, Starlink has yielded advantages on the battlefield in its war with Russia.
Another official with the environment agency told the AP it is just beginning to expel miners from the Yanomami territory and the spread of Starlink is a fever among illegal miners, complicating that mission. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about personal safety.
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