There are reports that Brazil’s army is training Amazon Indians in guerrilla warfare.
Leaked photos of training exercises were published in the Rio Newspaper Extra.
One of the pictures published yesterday shows a line of crouching indigenous women brandishing automatic rifles.
There are concerns that Indians are being forced into military training and recruitment. This would be a violation of Brazilian law. The army insists the training was voluntary.
Defense Minister Jose Alencar is puzzled over why this has created such a stir.
"There is no better education than that of the Brazilian Armed Forces. It’s an extraordinary education," said Alencar.