Exclusive-Brazil launches first anti-deforestation raids under Lula bid to protect Amazon

An agent of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) gets ready before going to an operation to combat of deforestation, in Uruara, Para State, Brazil January 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

URUARA, Brazil (Reuters) -Brazilian environmental agents cut through the rainforest with machetes on Thursday in search of criminals in the first anti-deforestation raids under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has pledged to end surging destruction inherited from his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.

Reuters exclusively accompanied raids led by environmental agency Ibama in the rainforest state of Para to stop loggers and ranchers illegally clearing the forest.