Clip of mining fire is from Colombia, not Indonesia
"On Sunday, June 8, 2025, at around 12:00 Papua Time, indigenous people in Raja Ampat Regency burned down an excavator owned by a nickel mining company operating in their customary territory," reads an Indonesian-language Facebook post on June 8, 2025.
It includes footage of a helicopter flying over an open area in the middle of the forest where several excavators are on fire.
"This action was a form of community anger and rejection of the presence of the extractive industry, which is damaging the environment, threatening living space, and ignoring the rights of indigenous peoples."
Similar posts also spread elsewhere on Facebook and on TikTok after Greenpeace Indonesia published videos showing environmental damage to three islands because of nickel mining projects (archived link).
The NGO's campaign led to growing calls by politicians and celebrities for mining licences to be withdrawn.
The government subsequently revoked permits for four of five companies operating in the cluster of islands in the Coral Triangle, a popular diving spot considered one of the world's most pristine reefs.
But there have been no official reports about the alleged protest mentioned in the posts.
"As of today, there is no burning incident in the mining site," Anis Dj, spokesperson of the police force in Southwest Papua Province that oversees Raja Ampat, told AFP on June 12.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes found the video posted on Instagram on June 5, 2025. The caption says it was filmed in Colombia (archived link).
Further keyword searches found a similar clip showing the same landscape and burning equipment was earlier uploaded to Facebook by Colombian media outlet Región Al Día on May 25, 2025 (archived link).
It says the video depicts the operation to close an illegal mining site in the rural area of Antioquia in Zaragoza, Colombia.
A further search found an article published by the official site of the Colombian police that featured a corresponding picture (archived link).
The operation was done by the Colombian National Police and the Aerospace Force to counter "illegal exploitation of minerals in the rural area of the municipality of Zaragoza in the department of Antioquia".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Guerrilla dissident group claims wave of Colombian attacks
A Colombian armed group comprised of ex-guerrillas who rejected a 2016 peace deal, claimed responsibility Friday for a wave of bomb and shooting attacks that killed seven people this week. Two police officers and five civilians died and 28 people were injured in the attacks on Tuesday in the country's southwest. On Friday, in a video sent to a journalists' chat, a man describing himself as commander Marlon Vasquez claimed responsibility on behalf the so-called Central General Staff (EMC). Dressed in camouflage and surrounded by guerrillas with rifles, he said the attacks came "in the midst of the commemoration of the 61 years of struggle" of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), founded in June 1964. The FARC -- the country's biggest rebel group -- signed a deal with the government in 2016 and laid down its arms. But some groups rejected the demobilization process and regrouped in two structures: Segunda Marquetalia and the EMC, the biggest of the dissident groups. Colombia is experiencing its biggest security crisis in a decade. On Tuesday, the country was rocked by a string of coordinated attacks across the southwest, where government forces are fighting FARC dissidents. Authorities reported 24 attacks, but the EMC said there were 40. The group meanwhile denied any involvement in the shooting on Saturday of presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, who remains in a critical condition. His alleged shooter, a 15-year-old, and a man alleged to have been involved in the "logistics" of the attack, are under arrest. als/das/mlr/nl
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gary man gets 70 years for killing marijuana dealer
A Gary man got 70 years Friday for killing a marijuana dealer. Tyrone Reno, 34, was convicted last month of murder in the Nov. 15, 2021, death of Quintez Johnson, 31, plus a gun enhancement. He faced up to 85 years. Johnson's two kids, aged 8 and 6, were in the apartment when he was shot. At trial, jurors viewed footage of an unmasked man running down a stairwell just after Johnson's death. They returned a guilty verdict after 15 minutes. Reno has said he is innocent and plans to appeal, his lawyer Natalie Williams said in court Friday, asking for a 45-year sentence. During lengthy remarks, Deputy Prosecutor Milana Petersen said Reno killed Johnson over cash and a 'little bit of weed.' She ultimately asked for 75 years. Johnson's mother, emotional on the stand, said her grandson still wouldn't eat spaghetti because it was the last dinner he ate with his dad. She expressed empathy for Reno's family. My son would have helped you, she told Reno. 'I just want to know why,' she said. 'He would have done anything you asked.' Earlier in the hearing, Petersen questioned Detective James Nielsen on videos from Reno's Facebook account. They showed him holding guns, money with rap music playing, or smoking. Williams objected throughout – saying they were posted in 2022 or later. His Facebook account was deactivated around the time of Johnson's death, she said. The lawyer argued there was no proof he was in a gang, a point Judge Salvador Vasquez agreed. Posting videos on Facebook with guns, money or rap music was not proof he lived a violent life. It was a false conjecture, she argued. Gary Police responded that day to an apartment building on the 1300 block of W. 5th Avenue for a homicide. Detectives found a trail of marijuana up the stairs to an open Pringles inside a third-floor apartment. Johnson was lying on the sofa. He had been shot twice in the head. There were no signs of struggle. Security cameras showed a Black man — later identified as Reno — arriving at Johnson's apartment, then fleeing about three minutes later. He had a handgun and a backpack with marijuana. Police believe Johnson was shot around 2 p.m. While a patrolman was writing a report at the Gary Police Station, 555 Polk St., a man who matched the one seen on the video walked by him and a colleague. He was wearing the same clothes, including a Black hoodie with white lining and brown tag. The other officer approached him. Reno gave his name, but he wasn't arrested, since the man in the video wasn't identified yet. Police learned Johnson started selling marijuana a month earlier to help pay his bills. Reno was arrested two years later. Investigators used 'facial recognition software' to help match security footage outside the Gary Police station to the man seen on camera at Johnson's apartment, court filings show. That left some questions on the software's accuracy. State lawmakers recently passed legislation to tighten standards for witness identification on photo lineups. It requires police to tell witnesses a suspect might not be in the lineup, cutting pressure to pick a photo; 'filler' photos – the non-suspects — have to look as close to a suspect as possible, and a witness' 'confidence' will have to be recorded. It also requires police to corroborate an identification by facial recognition software with other evidence. The law goes into effect July 1. mcolias@
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Homeland Security reveals identities of the 4 ‘public safety threats' who escaped Newark ICE facility
The Department of Homeland Security has revealed the identities of the four migrants who escaped a Newark ICE facility on Thursday night, identifying all four as "public safety threats" who are still at large. The agency is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the four migrants who broke out of Delaney Hall, a privately run ICE detention facility on Thursday night, amid chaotic scenes both inside and outside the facility. According to DHS, "the four criminal illegal aliens currently evading federal law enforcement are public safety threats." DHS identified the four escaped migrants as Honduran illegals Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes and Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez and Colombian illegals Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada and Andres Pineda-Mogollon, each of whom has previously been arrested for felony offenses including aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a handgun and terroristic threats. Returned Salvadoran Migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia Arraigned On Federal Human Trafficking Charges In Tennessee Bautista-Reyes illegally entered the U.S. in 2021 under the Biden administration and was arrested by the Wayne Township, New Jersey, Police Department on May 3 for aggravated assault, attempt to cause bodily injury, terroristic threats, and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes. Read On The Fox News App Sandoval-Lopez illegally entered the U.S. as a minor in 2019 and was arrested by the Passaic Police Department in October for unlawful possession of a handgun and again on February 15 for aggravated assault. Castaneda-Lozada entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was arrested by the Hammonton Police Department on May 15 for burglary, theft and conspiracy to commit burglary. Pineda-Mogollon entered the U.S. in 2023 and overstayed his tourist visa. He was arrested by the New York City Police Department on April 25 for larceny and again on May 21 by the Union, New Jersey, Police Department for residential burglary, conspiracy to commit residential burglary and possession of burglary tools. Ice Officers Assaulted During Raid That Nabbed 70 Illegal Immigrants At Meat Plant: Dhs Immigration attorney Mustafa Cetin told that around 50 detainees at the private facility pushed down a dormitory wall after becoming agitated when meals were delayed. "It's about the food, and some of the detainees were getting aggressive and it turned violent," Cetin said. He added that his client reported the wall was "not very strong" and described detainees hanging bedsheets in what may have been an escape attempt. The client also said he smelled gas during the incident. By 6 p.m., dozens of officers from the Essex County Sheriff's Office and Newark Police were present, according to Rutgers University-Newark professor Whitney Strub, who posted images of the police presence and said he and others outside the jail "were all coughing at the same time," after being exposed to what they believed was "some kind of gas," reported. Democrat Accuses Trump Of Unleashing 'Campaign Of Terror' On Illegals As La Riots Rage At approximately 9 p.m., a group of protesters blocked an SUV from exiting an ancillary gate at Delaney Hall, forcing it to back into the facility. PIX11 News reported that the escapees were seen running near Turnpike 78 and Delancey Street. DHS contested reporting that there had been widespread unrest at the facility, saying "this privately held facility remains dedicated to providing high-quality services, including around-the-clock access to medical care, in-person and virtual legal and family visitation, general and legal library access, translation services, dietician-approved meals, religious and specialty diets, recreational amenities, and opportunities to practice their religious beliefs." In a Friday statement, a senior DHS official said that "DHS has become aware of four detainees at the privately held Delaney Hall Detention Facility escaping" and that "additional law enforcement partners have been brought in to find these escapees and a BOLO has been disseminated." The senior official encouraged the public to call emergency services or the ICE tip line with any relevant information on the four article source: Homeland Security reveals identities of the 4 'public safety threats' who escaped Newark ICE facility
