This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000369 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
CA/OCS/ACS, WHA/BSC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC PGOV PREL BR TIP
SUBJECT: Murder of AmCit Dorothy Mae Stang 
 
REF: Henshaw/OP Center Telcons, 12 Feb. 
 
¶1. (U) This cable is Sensitive But Unclassified. 
 
¶2. (U) Summary.  US citizen and Catholic nun Dorothy Mae 
Stang was murdered in the northern Brazilian state of 
Para February 12.  She was an advocate for the landless 
and had been involved in land disputes with powerful 
landlords.  Brazilian state and federal government 
reactions have been forceful; three suspects have been 
named.  The Embassy has spoken with next-of-kin.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶3. (U) US citizen Dorothy Mae Stang was shot to death in 
the interior of the Brazilian state of Para at 7:30 a.m. 
(GMT -3) on Saturday, February 12.  Para, at the mouth 
of the Amazon, has a history of land disputes and 
lawlessness.  The murder took place outside the town of 
Anapu, in the rural center of the state.  She was killed 
by six shots (three to the head) by two gunmen on a 
rural roadside while waiting to meet with local farmers. 
 
¶4. (U) Stang, a 74-year old Catholic nun, had lived in 
Brazil for thirty years and was well known as an 
activist for agrarian reform.  She was a member of the 
Sisters of Notre Dame.  Stang had received a number of 
death threats in recent years; earlier in the week of 
her death, she had met with federal human rights 
authorities to complain of recent threats.  The death 
threats reportedly came from large landowners involved 
in the cattle and timber industries.  Stang worked with 
landless peasants seeking land; the large landowners 
that opposed her efforts for the most part do not/not 
own their land legally, rather they maintain control by 
force.  Stang supported efforts of the federal 
governments National Institute for Colonization and 
Agrarian Reform, which seeks to place the landless on 
unused and underutilized land. 
 
¶5.  (U) Sister Dorothy, as she was known in Para, 
became a Brazilian citizen in 2003 and was named an 
honorary citizen of Para state in December 2004 by the 
states assembly, in recognition of her efforts to 
create sustainable development projects in the Amazon 
region.  She had repeatedly stated that she believed her 
status as a nun would protect her against attacks. 
 
¶6. (U) Brazils environment minister, Marina Silva 
(herself a follower of slain environmentalist Chico 
Mendes), who was in Para at the time, immediately 
visited the site and strongly condemned the murder. 
President Lula ordered the justice minister to deploy 
the federal police to work along side Para state police 
during the investigation.  Lula also sent Nilmario 
Miranda, his human rights Secretary, to Para to follow 
events.  Various Para state officials, including the 
governor, also condemned the crime. 
 
¶7. (U) Police are searching for three suspects; they 
have not released their names.  Two are the gunmen, who 
were identified by witnesses of the murder.  A third is 
a rancher suspected of organizing the killing.  Later on 
February 12, Adalberto Xavier Leal, a ranch hand, was 
shot to death in Anapu.  Leal worked for landowner 
Dinair Feijo Cunha; the Catholic Churchs Pastoral Land 
Commission (CPT) had accused Lean and Cunha of being 
behind Dorothy Stangs murder.  (Note: We do not know if 
either Leal or Cunha were the same individuals being 
sought by the police.) 
 
¶8. (U) Dorothy Stangs body was taken to Belem, the 
capital of Para, for an autopsy on February 13. 
Following a mass in her honor, Stangs body was flown 
back to Anapu on February 14 for burial. 
 
¶9. (U) Both the Ambassador and Consul General spoke with 
Stangs brother, David Stang (719-487-1295) to offer our 
condolences.  CG also spoke with Stangs sister, Barbara 
Richardson (937-275-6649).  David Stang confirmed the 
familys support of the orders decision to bury his 
sister in Anapu, adding that it was his sisters wish to 
be buried there.  Our consular agent in Belem attended 
the autopsy and accompanied the body back to Anapu. 
 
¶10. (SBU) LEGATT has offered its assistance to federal 
officials at the working level, but believes that they 
have the case well in hand, at least at this stage. 
LEGATT expertise may be needed as the case progresses, 
e.g., with ballistics. 
 
¶11. (U) The Ambassador released the following statement 
February 14: 
 
Begin Text: 
 
I would like to express publicly what I have conveyed 
privately to Sister Dorothy Stang's family in the United 
States.  I am saddened and appalled [and saddened] by 
this brutal and senseless killing.  Sister Stang was a 
courageous individual who loved the people of Brazil and 
and who dedicated her life to serving [others] those less 
fortunate.  I share the outrage over her tragic loss 
with her family, her order, and her friends and 
colleagues in Brazil who have worked with her over many 
years. 
 
Sister Stang was well known to many at the Embassy. She 
had received U.S. government support through USAID for 
her work on women's issues and in defense of traditional 
populations in the Amazon. 
 
The United States Embassy is following the investigation 
closely, and is encouraged by the swift reaction of both 
the Brazilian government and the Federal Police.  We are 
confident that there will be a full and thorough 
investigation into this murder, and that those 
responsible will be brought to justice. 
 
End Text. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Comment: We are encouraged by the initial 
reaction of state and federal officials and believe it 
likely that arrests will be made.  However, the courts 
are the weak link in the Brazilian criminal; once there 
it will take a good deal of pressure to keep the case 
moving.  We plan to follow it closely. 
 
Danilovich