Mining and violence in Venezuela: Colombian guerrilla fighters operate near the mining frontier
The collapse of Venezuela's oil economy has led to a boom in illegal gold mining controlled by Colombian guerrillas (ELN/FARC) and criminal gangs. Report reveals that the Venezuelan state acts in complicity with these groups.
Replacing oil with illicit wealth
Following the collapse of Venezuela's oil industry, the state has pivoted to gold mining in the south to survive. The Crisis Group reports that rising gold prices have fueled unchecked illegal mining, strengthening criminal enterprises and corrupt elites who now rely on this 'cursed' resource for revenue.
Guerrilla Takeover
ELN and FARC dissidents move in Colombian guerrilla groups, specifically the ELN and FARC dissidents (Segunda Marquetalia), have expanded deep into Venezuelan territory. Reports confirm they now operate as 'state-sanctioned' enforcers in mining areas, sharing drug shipments and dividing up territory to exploit gold deposits while the Venezuelan military looks the other way.
The 'Sindicatos' Rule
Gangs enforcing brutal justice. Alongside guerrillas, Venezuelan criminal syndicates known as sindicatos including the Tren de Guayana control vast mining municipalities like El Callao. They extort local businesses, demanding up to 20 per cent of gold production, and enforce their own 'laws' with extreme violence, including summary executions and dismemberment.
Military sharing the profits
Far from fighting these groups, Venezuelan security forces often collude with them. Investigations reveal that the military conducts raids ostensibly to protect the environment but in reality uses them to seize mines for their own enrichment or to hand them over to allied armed groups in exchange for a cut of the profits.
Indigenous Suffering
Recruitment and forced labour, Indigenous communities, such as the Ye’kwana and Sanema, face existential threats. Crisis Group interviews reveal that armed groups forcibly recruit Indigenous teenagers as fighters or labourers. Those who resist face displacement or death, while sexual exploitation of women and minors has become rampant in mining camps.
Environmental Devastation
Poisoning the Amazon: The unchecked mining boom is destroying fragile ecosystems in Bolívar and Amazonas states. The use of mercury to extract gold is poisoning rivers and local food sources, while deforestation accelerates. The state's 'environmental' operations are dismissed by experts as mere power plays to control lucrative mining sites.
Exporting crime and instability
The violence and criminality breeding in Venezuela's mines are spilling across borders. Armed groups use gold profits to finance conflicts in Colombia and traffic drugs to Brazil. With the Venezuelan state relying on this illicit income to bypass sanctions, the region faces a destabilising hub of organised crime protected by sovereign power.
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