The Venezuelan military launched an operation against illegal miners in Yapacana National Park, following protests from the international community over the destruction of the country’s Amazon rainforest. In Venezuela, there are armed groups and corrupt state elements that profit from illegal mining. For this reason, there are still doubts about the country’s true commitment to reducing this scourge.

During the month of January, Venezuela’s military carried out six operations to destroy equipment and infrastructure used for illegal mining in Yapacana National Park, a 320-hectare nature reserve located in the central region of Amazonas state, considered one of the country’s natural jewels.

The operations led to the dismantling of at least two illegal mining camps, as well as the seizure or destruction of engines, bombs and other mining equipment, according to official reports.

The military actions carried out during the first month of the year are the continuation of a first series of coups carried out in December 2022, following a growing international outcry over deforestation in the Venezuelan Amazon.

Weeks before the start of these operations, several media outlets published satellite images of the devastation caused by illegal mining in Yapacana.

These reports not only draw attention to the scale of deforestation, but also make clear who bears most of the blame: Colombian-born guerrilla groups that have operated mostly with impunity in the region thanks to their ties to the Venezuelan government.

According to investigations conducted by InSight Crime, it can be established that these illegal mining operations are mainly carried out by criminal entrepreneurs, indigenous communities and guerrilla groups.

One of the FARC’s former fronts called the Acacio Medina Front runs mining operations and collects illegal taxes from other miners and various companies that support operations in the region. These outlaw groups regulate mining camps and impose their own rules and social order.

In addition, they control the territories at the boundaries of the zone and charge miners and merchants to allow them to enter the mining area.

According to community leaders, miners, researchers and authorities in the region, the guerrillas operate in coordination with the Venezuelan military, and everyone involved in mining must pay a portion of their profits to the military and other state actors in order to be allowed to work.