Tucayana Amazonas
The Tucayana Amazonas was an Amerindian guerrilla group in Suriname that operated from 1989 to 1992. Based mainly in West Suriname, their headquarters were in Bigi Poika, and they were led by Thomas Sabajo with his brother Hugo “Piko” Sabajo as second in command. They spoke for indigenous self-determination and claimed support from all tribes.
Many members had previously fought for the National Army in the Surinamese Interior War and felt betrayed by the 1989 Treaty of Kourou, which gave more rights to the Maroons but not to Indigenous people. On August 31, 1989, a group of Amerindians seized the ferry near Jenny and called themselves the Tucayana Amazonas. They captured the villages of Apoera, Washabo, and Bigi Poika and used them as their bases. They fought the Army, and in October they attacked Moengo, killing 20 soldiers. Internal infighting between Thomas and Piko led to Thomas being removed as leader in January 1990, after which he joined the Army.
The Army moved in to retake the villages. Piko fled to Guyana, and eight of his supporters were killed near Matta. In February 1990, indigenous leaders and commanders backed Thomas. Piko was arrested in Guyana and sent back to Suriname, where he and three supporters were jailed in Fort Zeelandia and later killed in Apoera in February 1990. The Tucayana Amazonas continued as a political group and supported the 1991 elections.
A peace treaty was signed on August 8, 1992, between the National Army, the Jungle Commandos, and the Tucayana Amazonas. That year, the Association of Indigenous Village Chiefs in Suriname was founded to help restore traditional village control and serve as a political voice. By 2020, the victims’ bodies had not been found and the cases had not been fully investigated. Activist groups put the number of victims at 12, while Amnesty International has said the exact number is unknown.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:09 (CET).