The Ayoreo-Totobiegosode are the only indigenous people in the Americas outside of the Amazon Basin who are living in voluntary isolation. In Paraguay, as obligatory guardians of their forest home, South America´s Gran Chaco, they continue to struggle to protect thousands of trees from illegal logging, even in the midst of the global crisis caused by COVID-19.

The Cacarica Basin in Colombia´s Chocó region, which is home to Afro-descendant, indigenous, and mestizo populations, has been targeted persistently by logging companies and threatened by illegal armed groups. In times of a pandemic, while the community stays put to avoid contagion, Ana del Carmen Martinez, a well-known local leader, lends her voice to tell their story of resistance. This story is part of the international journalistic series #DefenderSinMiedo coordinated by Agenda Propia.