HomeNewsBriefPeru Cracks Down on Illegal Gold Mining
BRIEF

Peru Cracks Down on Illegal Gold Mining

ILLEGAL MINING / 16 MAR 2012 BY HANNAH STONE EN

The Peruvian government's crackdown on illegal mining, which some link to organized crime, has triggered massive protests in the southeast town of Puerto Maldonado.

The town of Puerto Maldonado is the capital of Madre de Dios, an Amazon region which borders Brazil and Bolivia. The region is one of the centers of gold mining in Peru, producing a fifth of the country's gold. The government said that there are some 18,000 people involved in mining there, some 97 percent of which are not registered, while the local Chamber of Commerce head said that informal mining makes up half of all economic activity in the area.

Miners in the region began an indefinite strike on March 5, to protest against a government decree to make informal mining a crime. Riots broke out Wednesday after negotiations collapsed, and three people were killed by gunfire in the police response.

The government has promised to set up a fund to help local miners become part of the formal mining industry.

InSight Crime Analysis

In neighboring Colombia, informal gold mining is largely dominated by illegal armed groups, with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) controlling much of the business in the northern Antioquia province. Neo-paramilitary groups (known as BACRIMs) such as the Urabeños and the Paisas are also involved, while there have been reports of the Aguilas Negras intimidating miners elsewhere in the country.

Ecuador has also carried out operations to shut down illegal gold mining close to the border with Colombia, while, as InSight Crime has reported, the FARC could be poised to become major players in mining coltan, a metallic ore, in Venezuela's border regions.

There is not evidence of informal gold mining in Peru being run by criminal organizations in the same way, although security analyst Ruben Vargas told Andina this week that there was an "undeniable link" between illegal mining and drug trafficking in the country, and that traffickers used the business to launder their profits.

However, the mining boom in the area does create a fertile environment for organized crime. In October, police rescued some 200 women and girls from brothels in Madre de Dios, who they said had been trafficked there from other parts of the country. As Vargas pointed out, Madre de Dios is a key region for trafficking drugs into Peru and Brazil.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ECUADOR / 20 JAN 2023

Podocarpus Natural Park in southern Ecuador is only the most recent one to be threatened by encroaching gold miners.

ILLEGAL MINING / 27 JAN 2023

With cartels like the CJNG muscling in on illegal mining in Michoacán, Mexico, Indigenous community members continue to suffer.

GUYANA / 13 JUL 2021

Migrants from Venezuela's Warao Indigenous community who have been forced to flee to Guyana find themselves forcibly recruited to work…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…