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The uprising comes as President Jair Bolsonaro has vowed to change his approach to cutting down trees.
The Brazilian government says police have burned 131 boats used by illegal gold miners in the interior of the Amazon rainforest.
The operation marked a change in the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro, which has seen increase in deforestation following its initial decline in environmental protection and a more tolerant approach for gold miners to use natural resources in the region.
In a Twitter post on Monday, Justice Minister Anderson Torres described the attack as “swift and effective”. Federal police were assisted by the Navy and Environmental Enforcement Agency in Brazil IBAMA, officials said.
A large fire broke out east of Manaus, the Amazonas capital, in a dense jungle.
According to the Associated Press, on Saturday smoke began to erupt on the Madeira River, where last week’s photos showed hundreds of boats assembled as miners searched for gold.
Mining workers are known to damage the Amazon River and to pave the way for loggers and herdsmen, who destroy previously untouched areas.
Local journalists say three people were detained and an undisclosed gold was seized in connection with the operation.
‘The only clothes he wore’
Meanwhile, many people are complaining that the practice has left them trapped in the rain forest.
Luiz Henrique Ribeiro said police set fire to his boat on Saturday.
He said agents did not allow him to take his belongings into the boat before setting the fire. Most miners live in their own boats, which are usually equipped with satellite TV, hammocks and pets.
“State police came on the boat and told everyone to get out – they used pepper and told us to leave. Everyone was left with only the clothes they were wearing,” 26-year-old Ribeiro, who denied operating illegally in the river, told AP.
Officials from Amazonas said in a statement that officials should work together within 30 days to clear mining boats in Madeira.
Simao Peixoto, the mayor of Borba town on the Borba River and a close ally of the miners, said he was meeting with government officials and councilors to discuss the matter.
“You are workers, you do not have to live the life you used to live there. Thrown in the mud like beasts, ”said Peixoto.
From August 2020 to July 2021, Amazon in Brazil lost 13,235 square kilometers (5,110 square miles) of rainforest – a 22 percent jump from the same period last year and the largest annual decline to deforestation since 2006.
In early November, Bolsonaro arrived at the United Nations’ COP26 summit in Scotland to take action. the number of new seasonal agreements and plans to combat deforestation.
However, human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have strongly opposed the change in tone that lacks a sense of urgency.
Bolsonaro was also criticized for failing to explain how his government plans to fulfill its promise to end deforestation in the country by 2028.
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