"This confirmation was possible thanks to an odontological examination" of the samples which were analyzed in a laboratory in Brasilia, the police said in a press release.

“Comprehensive identification work continues, to better understand the cause of death, the dynamics of the crime and the concealment of the corpses,” she added.

Two suspects have been arrested so far, but police said in a new statement on Friday evening that an "arrest warrant" had been issued for a third man, Jeferson da Silva Lima, "not located at this time. day".

Earlier in the day, the police indicated that the elements available to them at this stage of the investigation suggested "that the killers acted alone, without a sponsor, without a criminal organization behind the murders".

The Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja), whose members actively participated in the research, refuted the police version.

"There are not just two killers, but an organized group that planned the crime down to the smallest detail," Univaja said in a statement.

Dom Phillips, 57, a longtime contributor to The Guardian newspaper, and Bruno Pereira, 41, a recognized expert on indigenous peoples, were in the Amazon as part of a book on environmental conservation.

British journalist Dom Phillip (c) speaks with two natives in Aldeia Maloca Papiu on November 16, 2019 in Brazil Joao LAET AFP/Archives

They were seen for the last time on June 5, when they took a boat to Atalaia do Norte (north-west), in the Javari Valley, a reputedly dangerous area where multiple drug, fishing or illegal gold mining.

Security

Univaja claims to have sent the authorities a report in which it explained that "Pelado" was involved in illegal fishing activities.

This 41-year-old fisherman had also been "accused of being the author of firearm attacks in 2018 and 2019 against a base of Funai", the Brazilian government agency for indigenous affairs, in this same city of Atalaia do Norte.

Murders in the Amazon Nicolas RAMALLO AFP

Univaja evokes "a powerful criminal organization which tried at all costs to cover its tracks during the investigation" on the double murder, recalling that Bruno Pereira, who worked for a long time at Funai, had already done the object of "death threats".

According to several experts, the illegal fishing of endangered species in the Javari Valley is, most often, under the control of drug traffickers who use the sale of fish to launder drug money.

"We demand the continuation and deepening of the investigations," insisted Univaja.

Members of the federal police arrive at the scene where a suspect says he buried the bodies of British journalist Dom Phillip and Brazilian expert Bruno Pereira, on June 15, 2022 in Atalaia do Norte, Brazil Joao Laet AFP

The Javari Valley, the second largest indigenous reserve in Brazil, where 26 indigenous peoples live, is a region that is difficult to access, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, on the triple border between Brazil, Peru and Colombia, where the State has very little influence.

Many members of the security forces left the scene after the remains of the victims were found.

After this departure, the natives who participated in the research now say they fear for their lives.

"We are going to continue to live here, and the state is not going to provide them with any security," said AFP Paulo Marubo, coordinator of Univaja, who said he had received threats.

The double murder of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira has sparked outrage around the world, with strong criticism of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro accused of promoting deforestation and encouraging resource exploitation in the Amazon since his coming to power in 2019.

The portraits of British journalist Dom Phillip and Brazilian expert Bruno Pereira who disappeared in the Amazon, during a gathering of indigenous people and Extinction Rebellion activists in front of the European Commission, on June 16, 2022 in Brussels Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD AFP

The United States urged on Friday that the responsibilities be established in the murder of the two men, "murdered for their support for the preservation of the rainforest and the indigenous populations".

The UN had denounced the day before a "brutal" and "appalling act".

© 2022 AFP