HomeNewsBriefPeru's Illegal Miners Trafficking Gold to Bolivia
BRIEF

Peru's Illegal Miners Trafficking Gold to Bolivia

GOLD / 26 NOV 2014 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

In response to new measures meant to fight illegal mining in Peru, smugglers are reportedly moving illegally mined gold into neighboring Bolivia, highlighting the shortcomings of Peru's policies.

According to Reuters, smugglers are moving illegal gold produced in Peru across Lake Titicaca into Bolivia, then selling the product on for exportation. Two regions near Lake Titicaca in southern Peru -- Madre de Dios and Puno -- are major gold producing areas.

One smuggler interviewed by Reuters said that traffickers also used light aircraft to move up to 200 kilos of gold at a time into Bolivia.

As evidence of the flow of contraband gold, Reuters reported that Bolivia officially registered 24 tons in gold exports between January and August this year, but produced six times less than this during nearly the same period.

Peruvian Interior Minister Daniel Urresti also recently acknowledged that gold traffickers are using numerous couriers to move small loads into Bolivia. According to Urresti, this is partly in response to improved technology provided to Peru's customs offices, allowing them to better detect and block illegal gold shipments.

According to Urresti, authorities are already setting up controls along the Bolivian border to address the problem.

InSight Crime Analysis

The Reuters report indicates that in the face of Peru's efforts to halt the destructive $3 billion illegal gold trade, illegal miners have merely developed new strategies to skirt controls. This raises questions about the government's narrative that hardline measures are drastically reducing illegal mining operations.

These measures have included blowing up machinery, conducting joint operations with Colombian authorities, placing restrictions on fuel sales in mining regions, and implementing controls in airports.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Gold

Bolivia's geographic location, institutional weaknesses, and pre-existing ties to Peru criminal groups makes it an ideal receptor of Peruvian gold. An air bridge between the two countries already sees some 20 tons of cocaine trafficked from Peru to Bolivia by plane each month, while Lake Titicaca is the primary water route used to move cocaine into Bolivia. Bolivian and Peruvian authorities recently agreed to jointly combat drug trafficking along this southern border, but Bolivian officials have said it is impossible to properly monitor what crosses the lake.

Peru's struggle against illegal gold mining is further complicated by the fact that 60 of the country's 120 legal exporters are thought to collaborate with the illegal mining industry.

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

COCA / 22 SEP 2021

From ornamental fish trafficking to land grabbing, corruption greases the wheels of every environmental crime motor, feeding deforestation and biodiversity…

COLOMBIA / 18 AUG 2021

Seizures of coltan in Colombia have shown the complex networks used by armed groups to smuggle the valuable mineral from…

EX-FARC MAFIA / 15 FEB 2023

The Acacio Medina Front is a dissident group that emerged from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), also known…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report continues to be a reference in the region

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media

21 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime deputy editor, Juan Diego Posada, was interviewed by the Associated Press about connections between the ex-FARC mafia and Brazilian criminal groups, and…