Vice president: Brazil ending Amazon deployment of soldiers

By DÉBORA ÁLVARES
Associated Press

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s Vice-President Hamilton Mourão has said that a deployment of soldiers to the Amazon rainforest will end, just weeks before the global climate conference where the administration aims to show commitment to curbing illegal deforestation. Nearly 3,000 soldiers have been in the Amazon for just over three months, working to prevent deforestation and man-made fires. The deployment is the third in President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration, stemming from a decree signed in late June, and was extended once already. That extension ends Friday. Mourão who coordinates the government’s Amazon Council, and said the government decided to end the program because environmental authorities once again have the ability to carry out oversight.