Venezuela expels 10,000 from illegal gold mine, now closed April 25, 2024

Illegal gold miner marker

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Venezuela expels 10,000 from illegal gold mine, now closed

Venezuelan authorities said on Tuesday that they had expelled around 10,000 people from an illegal gold mine that caused at least 16 deaths when it collapsed in February.

The Bulla Loca mine, in Bolívar state, in Venezuela's Amazon region, has been "closed and evacuated", said General Domingo Hernandez Larez, from the armed forces' operational command, on X.

He shared a video online showing huge craters left by the illegal mining, as well as dozens of felled trees around the mine that sprang up inside the La Paragua Forest Reserve.

The evacuation began in February after the open-pit mine collapsed. Locals say the death toll was much higher than the official count of 16.

Since last year, around 14,000 illegal miners have also been expelled from the Yapacana National Park in the neighboring state of Amazonas, where vast areas have been devastated by mining.

Activists denounce the "ecocide" in the area and the exploitation of children who work long hours without protection.

The authorities claim that illegal miners cut down and burn trees, contaminate the water, and carry out underground drilling that harms the environment and indigenous communities.

Last July, President Nicolas Maduro ordered the deployment of the armed forces to combat a scourge which, according to him, was "destroying the Amazon of South America... and Venezuela".

Human rights activists denounced the excessive use of force during the evictions of illegal mines where foreigners from Colombia, Brazil, and Ecuador also operate.

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