The drama of four Argentines who went to work as lumberjacks in Brazil and ended up enslaved

Four Argentines, including a minor, who had traveled to Brazil to work as lumberjacks in the rural area of Linha Imperial, in the town of Nova Petrópolis in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, were rescued this Saturday by the Brazilian police.

According to the Brazilian press, they had been forced to work as slaves: they lived in the forest, in unhealthy conditions, without drinking water, bathrooms, or electricity.

The Military Brigade, through the 1st Police Battalion in Tourist Areas, based in Gramado, the Federal Police, and the Labor Prosecutor’s Office of Caxias do Sul, arrested a suspect.

He would have been responsible for having subjected four people, one minor, to slave labor in Nova Petrópolis.

The case came to light this Saturday morning when two men, 24 and 45 years old and of Argentine nationality, went to the Bom Princípio Military Brigade and reported that they lived in the municipality of Nova Petrópolis after having been hired in August 2022 to work as lumberjacks.

According to the victims, they had not received any salary since they were hired and were forced to live in makeshift shacks.

On Friday, they usually worked, and during the evening, whoever had hired them invited them to dinner at a restaurant in an unknown location.

After the meal, they got into a vehicle and started to drive around until the alleged employer stopped the car in front of a hotel, where he abandoned them.

With no money, they went in search of help, so they went to the headquarters of the Military Brigade, where they reported the existence of two other Argentines in the same situation: a father and his 14-year-old son, who had not been able to escape.

They also reported that they had received death threats if they told the police about the situation they were going through.

During the afternoon, the Military Brigade and the Federal Police went to the Linha Imperial premises in Nova Petrópolis, together with the Labor Prosecutor’s Office, where they found the other two victims and confirmed the precariousness of the place where they were being held.

Then, after some inquiries, the police went to Pinhal Alto in search of the suspect who tricked them, but there was no one at home, the Brazilian press detailed.

Around 7 p.m., a Ford Escort vehicle with a Nova Petrópolis license plate was seen approaching the place, but when it saw the police, it tried to flee.

He was unable to do so. Officers approached the car and discovered three men inside.

One of the suspects, 30 years old and the same one who tried to abandon the two workers in Bom Princípio, has a record for injuries, threats, rape, disobedience, and crimes against flora.

The landowner had hired him. The authorities did not take any action with his companions.

Finally, they detailed that the person responsible for subjecting the Argentineans to slave labor was arrested and transferred to the Federal Police station in Caxias do Sul.

With information from Infobae