By Eduardo Franco Berton When the veil of darkness falls on the forest, men armed with .22 caliber Marlin rifles come with it, and they are determined to pursue their prey. Once a bullet hits its target, the injured animal falls into the water and has to swim to the shore, where it bleeds to […]
Category: Mining
Colombian and Ecuadorian criminal groups expand their violent influence throughout the Amazon
By Plan V* The Comandos de la Frontera, a Colombian armed group that also operates in northern Ecuador, and the Ecuadorian gang Los Choneros have imposed a regime of terror in the Amazonian provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana, although the alliances between them are unclear. One of the illegal activities that has grown the most […]
Energy transition creates a race for strategic minerals with 5,000 applications in the Amazon
Copper, lithium and nickel, among others, are raw materials used to produce electric vehicles, batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels. The Amazon holds part of these minerals, and large companies want to exploit it. Most mining applications are in Pará state, and some of them will have direct impact on areas located in Indigenous Lands and Conservation Units.
Documentary from Amazon Underworld reveals corruption in large-scale dredging in the Amazon
The film ‘Dragas: The Obscure Business of Gold in the Amazon’ incorporates a 1-year and 4-month investigation that maps the operations of armed groups and criminal factions exploiting illicit economies in the forest, revealing their locations and modus operandi.
Drug gangs threaten communities in Amazon ‘cocaine corridor’
Indigenous, African-descended and other traditional communities are caught in escalating violence from drug trafficking in Amazon “cocaine corridor.”
For young Venezuelan migrants in Brazil, drugs, gold and early death
Brazilian criminal groups prey on young Venezuelan migrants, especially unaccompanied minors, who cross border in search of jobs.
Armed groups threaten Indigenous lands in southern Venezuela
In Venezuela’s southern Amazon region, Pemón Indigenous communities are caught between encroaching armed groups and illegal gold miners.
Dredges: Gold mining spurs crime & corruption on Brazil-Colombia border
Miners dredging millions of dollars in gold from Brazil’s Puruê River devastate the environment and attract armed groups.
Welcome to the Amazon Underworld
The Amazon, the largest rainforest in the world, is also a source and transit point for illegally extracted jungle resources and narcotics. As criminal economies expand, violence and deforestation worsen
Illegal gold miners remove equipment and escape crackdown in Amazonas
Satellite images show that the interruption of gold mining immediately changed the color of the river. Operators of dredges, which can cost up to US$1.4 million, said they planned to return to the area after the government anti-mining operation ended.