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

COCAINE EUROPE / 17 JUN 2021

A criminal group in Colombia is turning dirty money into adulterated gold, in the latest addition to a long list…

ELITES AND CRIME / 17 NOV 2021

On November 5, 2019, threatening pamphlets appeared on the streets of El Callao, a mining town in Venezuela's eastern state…

COLOMBIA / 7 APR 2021

Illegal gold mining is devastating South America's jungles. The trade has been destroying large swaths of forest and flooding rivers…

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…