Operation Ágata 4 consists of 8,600 civilian and military troops, 11 boats, nine helicopters and 27 aircraft. The operation will cover the borders with Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana – more than 3,106 miles (5,000 kilometers). Above, the Oiapoque River separates a Brazilian village (L) from Camopi in French Guiana. (Paulo Santos/Reuters)

Operation Ágata 4 which began on May 2, “has as a main objective to maintain a more effective presence in the state of Brazil. From now on, the country’s armed forces will have information on these regions,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. Above, soldiers acknowledge a briefing from their commanding officer before they begin patrolling the Oiapoque River on May 8. (Paulo Santos/Reuters)

Brazilian soldiers patrol for drug traffickers, arms smugglers and illegal logging and mining activity using helicopters and aircrafts along Brazil’s northern border shared with four countries. (Paulo Santos/Reuters)

In two days, 10 clandestine airstrips used to smuggle weapons, drugs and gold were found near the “Yanomami” indigenous communities along the Brazilian-Venezuelan border. Two of the airstrips are scheduled to be destroyed next week, according to the Ministry of Defense. (Paulo Santos/Reuters)

Authorities question a worker found in the forest near a goldmine. Shovels, plastic boots, pipes and makeshift shelters were also found in the surrounding area. (Paulo Santos/Reuters)

Brazilian Army officers and Federal Police reach the goldmine, where the “removal of land and deforestation [is obvious] and totally illegal,” a federal agent said. In operations similar to Ágata 4 conducted last year, Brazil seized more than 115 tons of drugs and 534 firearms and made a little more than 4,000 arrests, officials said. (Paulo Santos/Reuters)