Brazil to rein in foreign groups in Amazon

Brazil's military will regulate environmental, religious and other foreign groups working in the Amazon region under a law being drafted to assert sovereignty over the often lawless rainforest, the defense minister said on Thursday.

"There is this concept that the Amazon is some free place for anyone, but the Amazon is sovereign Brazilian territory," Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said at a media briefing.

Many international non-governmental organizations, such as the environmental group Greenpeace, have offices in the Amazon region and campaign to halt the destruction of the rainforest by loggers and agricultural interests.

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