Word: xapuri
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...little-known town in the remote western Amazon has just four dingy guesthouses and 450 phone lines and lies a rugged five-hour drive from the nearest major airport. And yet this week, normally tranquil Xapuri (pop. 6,000) is being invaded by 3,000 visitors from the surrounding territory and around the globe. They have come to witness a long-awaited event: the trial of two men accused of murdering Chico Mendes. In fact, everyone who cares about environmental issues is watching to see whether justice will prevail in the case of the humble rubber tapper whose defense...
...accused of killing him -- Darly Alves da Silva, 56, a wealthy Xapuri rancher, and his son Darci, 24 -- were the targets of one of Mendes' last empates, in March 1988. After the confrontation, Mendes, who had allegedly been threatened many times by the elder Da Silva, feared for his life and alerted the police. But on Dec. 22, 1988, Mendes was struck down by a single shotgun blast as he stepped out the back door of his home. His police bodyguards were inside playing dominoes. Mendes...