Illegal mining finances Venezuela's irregular groups

The South American country has become the centre of operations for organised crime in Latin America. Irregular armed groups are currently operating in the states of Apure, Bolivar and Amazonas, using illegal mining to finance their illicit activities. The consequences of this activity, which is allowed by the national authorities, is causing an ecocide against one of the largest natural reserves in the world, which is at the highest levels of deforestation and pollution, endangering the entire natural habitat of this area. Gold mining is annihilating the indigenous communities in the area, by using mercury, by constantly threatening them and by using them for slave labour. 

In 2016, Nicolás Maduro, through a presidential decree, created the project called "The Orinoco Mining Arc", whose objective is the extraction of natural resources in the south of the country, with an area of 11,843km2, covering seven natural parks, seven natural monuments and home to approximately 55 indigenous communities. This presidential decree did not have the approval of the legislative branch as established in the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution, and both the Venezuelan opposition and the international community have rejected illegal mining in Venezuelan territory. According to several NGOs, such as SOS Orinoco, and deputies of the National Assembly of Bolivar and Amazonas State, mining activity has spread throughout the national territory, outside the kilometres established by the presidential decree, reaching places such as the Canaima National Park, which is a World Heritage Site, declared by UNESCO in 1994.  Venezuela is the Amazonian country with the most illegal mines, approximately 680, and 59 of them are in Canaima, a territory that has lost 1,000 square kilometres to gold mining.

Colombian guerrillas, such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), have made Venezuela their own refuge since the signing of the Peace Agreement in Colombia in 2016. These irregular groups have coexisted with the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) since the groups have shared the economic benefits from the trafficking of illicit substances, with some providing protection in the territory, while the others share the income from drug trafficking in return. These areas are a security dilemma for internal communities, as abuse by these groups against local populations has been recorded; "Despite the considerable presence of security and military forces in the region, and the efforts undertaken to address criminal activity, the authorities have failed to investigate and prosecute human rights violations, and abuses and crimes linked to mining [...] Authorities should take immediate steps to end labour and sexual exploitation, child labour and human trafficking, and should dismantle criminal groups controlling mining activities. They must also investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible for human rights violations, abuses and crimes," said UN High Representative for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.

These indigenous populations have levels of mercury contamination 5 times higher than the permitted level, limits set by the WHO. The cyanidation methods used to extract gold, which stores small ponds on the banks of rivers, create the ideal conditions for the reproduction of the malaria mosquito, in 2019 the South American country reported 53% of malaria cases in all of Latin America. Venezuela is one of the 10 most diverse countries in terms of flora and fauna, with more than 600 species in danger of extinction.

Latin America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.