The Los Lobos criminal group in Ecuador has become increasingly involved in illegal gold mining in 7 of Ecuador’s 24 provinces, Mongabay reports on May 28.
Los Lobos, linked to Mexico’s Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel, have infiltrated illegal gold mining areas and taken control of almost every part of the mineral supply chain.
The team reached remote areas, including Podocarpus National Park, where thousands of illegal miners work. According to intelligence reports from September 2023, some 2,200 people (Ecuadorians, as well as Peruvians, Colombians and Venezuelans) were working illegally at a dozen different sites within the park. These include those who carry dynamite to blast rocks and open tunnels, cart pushers and rock crushers, and those who supply food, fuel, drugs, etc. Locations in the area known as San Luis, deep in the park, were so remote that specially trained troops needed 12 hours on foot to reach the area.
Indigenous leaders say they are increasingly afraid to speak out for fear of reprisals, while several local officials who have spoken out against illegal mining have been attacked or killed.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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