Brazil govt. removes environment chief in possible reprisal

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The administration of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has removed a top environmental official in a potential act of retribution, just days after he appeared in a report on illegal gold mining in the Amazon rainforest for the Brazilian television station Globo.

The dismissal of Samuel Vieira de Souza, a retired Army colonel and director of the environmental agency known by the Portuguese acronym IBAMA, was published Thursday in the nation's official gazette.

De Souza recently allowed a Globo television crew to accompany an agency operation against prospectors in the Yanomami Indigenous territory, and gave an on-camera interview. The piece aired Sunday on Globo's program Fantastico. Bolsonaro, who is running for reelection, has been an outspoken champion of fostering economic activity within Indigenous territories, particularly promising regulation of mining in areas where it is currently illegal.

It would be a “big coincidence” if de Souza were fired for any reason other than the Globo report, Alex Lacerda, head of the union that represents the nation’s environment officials, told The Associated Press.

The Globo segment denounced businessman Rodrigo Martins de Mello, a Bolsonaro backer who has been accused of involvement with mining on protected Amazon lands, which the president has repeatedly promised to legalize. De Mello, who is running for a seat in Congress, previously denied any wrongdoing through his lawyer.

But the Brazilian government gave a different explanation for de Souza's removal. The environmental agency said he will be part of a working group to fight international environmental crime, as a special advisor to the Ministry of Environment. U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry is one of the leaders of this initiative.

The working group...