Colombian Police Crackdown on Illegal Gold Mines

Overview

• Colombian police are conducting raids to shut down illegal gold mines.
• The focus has shifted from cocaine to gold as a lucrative resource for funding operations.

Context

• Report from Caucasia, Colombia by Simon Romero for The New York Times.
• Gold has become a new front in Colombia's internal conflict.
• High prices of gold and crackdown on cocaine production have prompted a shift.
• Both leftist guerrillas and criminal militias are involved in gold mining.

Conflict

• Police raids provoke anger among miners.
• Miners claim they are caught between authorities and illegal militias.
• Miners forced to pay protection money ("vaccines") to armed groups.
• Common suspicion: government operations aim to clear land for foreign companies.

Environmental Impact

• Illegal gold mining causes severe environmental damage.
• UN reports world's highest mercury contamination levels in these areas.
• Destruction of forest canopies results in a barren, lunar-like landscape.

The Gold Rush

• 21st-century gold rush depicted through the life of Leardo Vias, a miner for 25 years.
• 150 workers at illegal mines are part of a complex supply chain meeting global gold demand.
• Wildcat miners keep the gold they find, but face uncertainty.

Social and Economic Impact

• Generations of families reliant on mining for livelihood.
• Conflict between economic necessity and legality.
• Recent protests in Anori against police mine closures.
• 5,000 miners and peasants protested, implicating FARC rebels' involvement.
• Transition from coca farming to gold mining by many locals; potential return to coca warned.