Article 418 Federal Criminal Code

A penalty of six months to nine years of imprisonment and a fine of one hundred to three thousand times the daily value of the Measurement and Updating Unit (Unidad de Medida y Actualización) in force shall be imposed, provided that said activities are not carried out in urban zones, on anyone who, without having the prior authorization of the competent authority:

I.Clears or destroys the forest vegetation;

II.Cuts, uproots, fells or logs some tree or trees, or

III.Changes the land use of forest lands without the authorization issued by the competent authority.

The prison penalty shall be increased by up to four more years and the fine by up to five thousand times the daily value of the Measurement and Updating Unit in force in the case in which the conducts referred to in the sections of the first paragraph of this article affect a natural protected area.

When the conducts referred to in this article are carried out using firearms or by any other violent means against persons or to obtain a profit or economic benefit, a penalty of three to twelve years of imprisonment and a fine of five hundred to five thousand times the daily value of the Measurement and Updating Unit in force shall be imposed.