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Organized crime in the Amazon region
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2026-10-29 15:06 UTC → 2026-10-29 15:06 UTC ·
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Reports from Amazon Underworld indicate that criminal networks organized crime and armed groups operate in approximately 59% of the 1,310 surveyed municipalities surveyed across six Amazonian nations: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Colombia and Venezuela report show the highest levels of impact, with 98% and 82% of municipalities affected, respectively. A significant economic shift has occurred as illegal mining, particularly for gold, has surpassed cocaine trafficking as the region’s most lucrative criminal industry. In addition to gold, groups industry in the region. Criminal factions are also exploiting minerals such as tin, tungsten, and coltan. coltan in Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. These activities are linked to illegal logging, land grabbing, and cattle ranching, with the latter often used to launder illicit funds. The expansion of these operations networks has accelerated environmental destruction, including deforestation and mercury contamination of soil and rivers. Criminal organizations are becoming increasingly interconnected across borders, such as Brazil’s Comando Vermelho expanding into Bolivia and Peru. Local and Indigenous communities face escalating violence, extortion, and the use of human shields by groups seeking to protect illicit economies and obstruct state intervention. actions. Current militarized repression strategies have been noted as failing to address the underlying economic and social drivers of these activities.
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- 2026-10-29 15:06 UTC Organized crime in the Amazon region
- 2026-10-29 15:06 UTC Organized crime in the Amazon region
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