During a visit in May 2019 to a community in the Agronegócio Estrondo Estate, in the municipality of Formosa do Rio Preto, Western Bahia, in Brazil's Cerrado region, Greenpeace Brazil and accompanying journalists were caught up in an armed raid, witnessing first-hand the aggression used against local people.
Arriving in an unmarked vehicle, four men claiming to be state police, wearing flak jackets and carrying automatic weapons, but no identification, attempted to force entry into a community member’s home.
Mega-traders Cargill and Bunge both have facilities in the estate. Despite court rulings supporting their land rights, communities all over the Cerrado, a frontier for soya expansion, have faced violence and intimidation as agribusiness expanded across the region.