On 31 March 2016, the quilombola member known as Zé Sapo was shot dead. Zé Sapo was a resident of the Cruzeiro and Triângulo community in the city of Palmerândia, Maranhão.
He had been fighting for the recognition of the quilombola territory, an agrarian conflict that has lasted for almost 10 years.
The Cruzeiro and Triângulo Quilombola (Afro-Brazilian settlement) community was certified as such by the Fundação Cultural Palmares in 2008 and has since become a victim of serious hostilities.
The community is a target of physical and psychological violence, promoted by persons linked to the state and to the ruralists (large landowners) groups. The violence also occurs through judicial prosecution that seeks the repossession against the quilombola community.