The Ministry of Ports and Airports reported, on Sunday (22), that the federal government will not tolerate new violent acts and occupations against Cargill’s port terminals and vessels, in Santarém (PA), as a form of protest against privatization and the flow of cargo on the Tapajós River.
“The right to demonstrate is guaranteed by the Constitution, but acts that generate violence, invasions or irregular occupations are illegal and will not be tolerated”, highlights an excerpt from the note.
The text also informs that the ministry has already adopted “all appropriate measures” in response to the demonstrations, including notifying Companhia Docas do Pará and contacting the Federal Attorney General’s Office (AGU) and suspending the dredging tender.
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The ministry also said that it “will act firmly in defense of legality, public order and the interests of society” and that “all court decisions must be complied with”.
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Indigenous protesters occupied the Cargill port terminal and interrupted operations there between Friday night and Saturday morning (21).
The occupation marks an escalation between protesters and the company over proposed plans to dredge local rivers, such as the Tapajós, through which grains such as soybeans and corn pass before reaching export markets.
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Cargill shipped more than 5.5 million tons of soybeans and corn through Santarém last year, according to data from the port sector.
Protesters have been blocking truck access to the terminal since January 22, demanding the Brazilian government to reconsider a decree that they say opened the Amazon rivers to dredging.
The decree cited is 12,600, signed in August 2025 by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). The regulations include the federal waterways of the Madeiras, Tocantins and Tapajós Rivers in the PND, which allows technical studies to be carried out and the eventual concession of navigability services, such as dredging and maintenance of the channel.
The government has stated on other occasions that dredging is a routine measure to ensure river traffic during periods of low water levels.
