Amazon Nations Crack Down on Environmental Crime in Largest Coordinated Operation

Police forces from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru carried out Operation Green Shield 2026 from July 15‑31, deploying more than 3,600 officers across the Amazon Basin. The joint effort resulted in 839 arrests, the seizure of over 280,000 cubic metres of illegally harvested timber—enough to fill roughly 110 Olympic‑size swimming pools—and 195 metric tons of minerals and mining equipment. Authorities also rescued more than 3,000 live animals and recovered at least 430 dead animals linked to wildlife trafficking.

The operation, coordinated from Bogotá by the International Initiative of Law Enforcement for Climate (I2LEC)—a UAE‑backed programme launched with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime—targeted illegal mining, logging, wildlife trafficking, fuel smuggling and land‑grabbing. Officials highlighted the growing need for cross‑border cooperation as criminal networks move people and goods across national borders, making this the largest coordinated crackdown on environmental crime in the world’s largest rainforest.