Documents seized by the Colombian police suggest that the ELN are involved in the illegal mining trade in a more sophisticated way, with the guerrillas taking a share of the…
An estimated 85 percent of fuel oil sold in the Amazonian Madre de Dios region of Peru is allegedly used in illegal gold mining, an illustration of how the industry…
Colombia's famed "Emerald Czar," Victor Carranza, is dead of natural causes. As was clear when I interviewed him, Carranza, more than any other underworld figure in Colombia's history, knew how…
A letter obtained by Colombian media has shed light on the extent to which the country's oldest guerrilla group, the FARC, extorts the mining industry.
As President Juan Manuel Santos declared a new offensive against Colombia's micro-trafficking, a new report reveals the depth of the country's illegal mining trade, highlighting two of Colombia's principal security…
Colombia's ailing "Emerald Czar," Victor Carranza, has called for a new peace deal with his rivals as fears mount over a new war for control of the lucrative emerald sector.
Peruvian officials have seized 198 kilos of mercury they believe was intended for use in unlicensed gold mining, a reminder of the issues that the government faces in tackling this…
Colombia's second-largest guerrilla group the ELN announced the kidnap of two German citizens in the Venezuelan border region, in what looks like an attempt to increase pressure on the…
Citing links to organized crime, the Attorney General's Office (PGR) in Mexico has frozen the accounts of 12 mining companies so far this year, underscoring how criminal groups may be…
Colombia's Urabeños gang, as part of ongoing expansion, reportedly purchased gold mining operations from their rivals the Rastrojos, although this agreement was not respected…
A former governor and PRI leader in Mexico has claimed that the Zetas have broadened their activities to include coal mining in the northern state of…
There are signs that a new battle for control of Colombias emerald business is already breaking out, as the industrys ailing kingpin, Victor Carranza, struggles to keep a…