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The Guardian
7 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Scratch the earth, there's gold!': small miners, big firms and armed gangs fight over Peru's mineral wealth
Deep in the mountains of northern Peru, a bloody war is being fought over gold. As its international price sets successive record highs above $3,000 (£2,220) an ounce, criminal gangs, illegal miners and established mining companies battle over the metal. The conflict is not fought out in the open but in a maze of tunnels that stretch for miles inside the mountains of Pataz, a gold-rich Andean province about 130 miles (200km) inland from Peru's third city, Trujillo. In early May, the bodies of 13 security workers were found shot dead, their hands bound and some showing signs of torture, in one of the tunnels belonging to an artisanal miner linked to the province's largest mining company, Poderosa. After the gruesome discovery, the government imposed a month-long ban on goldmining for all but the company and sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to enforce a state of emergency and a nightly curfew in the province. Yet, the massacre of the security contractors, who had been hired to expel intruders, was just the most visible example of the brutal violence which, locals say, has left countless dead, many of them forcibly 'disappeared' under rocks and rubble in a labyrinth of 450 subterranean tunnels. Five hundred metres inside one mineshaft, three men armed with military-grade guns emerge from the gloom to speak to the Guardian. 'We are living moments of terror,' says the group's leader. 'Many confrontations; many compañeros [comrades] gone,' he admits when asked about how many gun battles he had fought as the violence surged in recent years. The armed gang's job is to steal mines from small miners or recover mines stolen from their employer and wrest back control, he says. Underground gunfights are inevitable and attacks can come from all sides as armed men known as parqueros steal ore – the gold-bearing rock – by tunnelling in from connecting shafts or invading the mine from other entrances. The gangs burn tyres and pump smoke into the tunnels to drive out miners. Or they attack the security guards, as when the 13 men were killed. One guard, his face masked by a green mining helmet pulled low over his head, rests his right hand rests on an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. 'We're a family,' he says, nodding at his companions in rubber boots and bulletproof vests as water drips from the rocky roof of the tunnel. He does not know much about the international gold price but, as a former soldier, he knows he earns more as a gunman than as a miner – and much more than if he worked back in Trujillo. 'We have the training,' he says. 'I do get scared,' he admits, but the monthly wage means he can support his five young children. 'It's all for gold. Pataz has wealth, which generates violence, so they hire us.' 'Your life is worth more than gold,' reads one placard. 'Without artisanal mining, many families don't eat,' reads another. They are being displayed by families in a well-organised protest against the government's suspension of all but Poderosa's mining in Pataz. For more than four decades, Poderosa has leased a mining concession from the government that encompasses much of the province. Geologically, Pataz is shot through with gold-rich veins of quartz and pyrite in abruptly steep mountains, peppered with hundreds of mineshafts. 'It's a blessing,' shouts José Torrealva, president of Pataz's artisanal mining association, in a fiery, crowd-stirring speech to the hundreds of families assembled on the town's football pitch. 'Where you scratch the earth, there's gold!' Torrealva, whom prosecutors are investigating for allegedly mining illegally, is a firebrand advocate of what he calls 'artisanal' mining. 'Who drives the economy in Pataz? We, the small miners, do,' he cries to cheers from the townsfolk. 'They are taking away our fundamental right to work. They are making laws to 'disappear' the artisanal miner,' says Torrealva, who owns companies that provide explosives and truck hundreds of tonnes of ore out of Pataz to refineries on the coast. Only those on a register of informal miners purportedly in the process of formalisation – known by its acronym Reinfo – can sell gold to Poderosa. In more than a decade, only 2% of more than 84,000 miners registering have completed the formalisation process, which requires them to pay tax and employ clean mining techniques. Earlier this month, the government removed 1,425 miners in Pataz from the Reinfo registry, meaning they can no longer sell their ore to Poderosa nor operate legally. Still, mining without a state permit is common. Many miners, such as Brandon Saldaña, 29, resent that his employer is not considered fully legal, even though he pays a team of miners. 'Everybody criminalises us, saying we're illegal, but it's not like that. They put everybody in the same bag,' he says as he sits with his fellow miners inside a shaft, smoking and chewing coca leaves laced with lime from a gourd. 'Sometimes the informal miner lacks just one document to become formal.' The bureaucratic process is slow and frustrating. Some of Saldaña's friends earn more working illegally for one of the many criminal gangs, from local gangsters La Gran Familia and Los Pulpos to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua that have taken over mineshafts. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion The invasion of criminals and outsiders started during the Covid-19 pandemic when poverty rocketed, law enforcement was focused on lockdowns and the price of gold surged to more than twice pre-Covid levels. Delmatia Jaime, 80, wishes her home town, Pataz, could return to its former tranquillity. 'Life here has changed completely,' she says. 'There is no trust or security. So many people disappear; every day there is death.' Perched on a mountainside with a white colonial church in its plaza, the narrow streets of this once-typical Andean village are now choked with brand-new 4x4s. Poderosa, an $8bn mining company, says it had no affiliation with the 13 men killed in April. But the victims worked for R&R, an unregistered company affiliated with Libmar, a firm owned by the miner Nicolás Cueva. His company sold ore to Poderosa, which buys from about 280 registered artisanal miners in the province, processes the gold on site and sells it to Canada, Japan and Switzerland. Cueva told the local press that Libmar spent 80,000to 100,000 soles (£16,000-£20,000) a month on security. He also said his company was providing support to the victims' families. Since the incident, Poderosa has hired 1,200 security guards, according to Pablo de la Flor, the company's corporate affairs manager. 'That is two security guards for every miner,' he says. 'Despite that, it has been impossible to control this spate of violence.' The organised crime networks behind the gangs of parqueros, who steal the ore, have impressive resources, says De la Flor. It's a 'risky investment' requiring heavy machinery, geologists, mining engineers, hitmen and inside information. 'In some cases, they drill tunnels that are 2km long, costing $2,000 to $2,800 a metre, so somebody is financing that operation.' Hundreds more miners who do not sell to Poderosa fuel a multibillion-dollar illicit trade in gold ore. In the last four years, 33,708 trucks loaded with 674,160 tons of ore, worth $3.5bn, left Pataz and passed police checkpoints to any one of four dozen crushing plants in a maze of industrial lots in Trujillo, according to the mining company's data. Once crushed, lorries transport it to refineries near Lima. The ingots are then shipped principally to India and the United Arab Emirates – importers with laxer standards of due diligence compared with Canada and Switzerland. In a statement to the Guardian, Poderosa expressed 'sincere condolences to the families' and said to be 'in permanent communication with Libmar so that the affected families receive the necessary support'. But Paty Carranza, 23, the widow of Frank Monzón, one of the 13 murdered men, says she has received nothing from Poderosa. She has been receiving anonymous threatening phone calls urging her to remain silent. Her three-year-old daughter still does not know her father is never coming home. 'I haven't found the courage to tell her,' Carranza says. 'She keeps asking: 'Where is Daddy? When is he taking us to the beach?' Carranza is on the second floor of a half-built breeze-block home in El Porvenir, a tough neighbourhood in Trujillo. Monzón was earning a little more than $1,000 a month, more than he could dream of making in the city, and the money paid for their home to be built. ''Your hubby has money. You'll want for nothing,' he used to joke,' Carranza recalls. In May, the suspected leader of the attackers, Miguel Antonio Rodríguez Díaz, alias 'Cuchillo', was captured in Colombia. The ex-soldier was jailed for three years on pre-trial detention while prosecutors prepared charges of organised crime, contract killing, aggravated homicide and money laundering. 'I can't get my head around how [the attackers] could have been so brutal,' says Carranza. Her partner's body was intact save for a gunshot in the back of the neck, but other bodies at the morgue showed signs of torture: broken jawbones, chests opened up, missing arms, legs, some with a head or testicles missing. 'Many people are dead inside those mines; they go inside and are never seen again,' she says. 'They sacrifice people for what? To get more gold? It is as if they need blood; that's what they did with my husband.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Man who helped shoot the homes of NM elected officials gets shorter sentence
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A man who was hired to shoot up the homes of New Mexico Democrats was shown some leniency by the courts and sentenced to a little more than three years in prison. Story continues below Job News: NM proposes rule aimed at preventing heat illness for workers Poll Results: Where is the best place to go fishing in New Mexico? Don't Miss: One man's journey out of the juvenile justice system to mentorship Jose Louise Trujillo, along with his father Demetrio Trujillo, was hired by Solomon Peña to intimidate four elected officials after Peña lost his race for state representative. Today, Judge Kea Riggs told Trujillo he was getting an opportunity to change his life after granting a lighter sentence. More than two years ago, Solomon Peña was arrested for orchestrating a series of shootings in 2022 and 2023, targeting four democratic elected officials he considered his political enemies, after he lost his race to be a republican state representative. 'To me, this was one of those special cases that wasn't just a victim, it was a threat on democracy,' said Chief Harold Medina, Albuquerque Police Department. Peña hired Jose Louise Trujillo and his father, Demetrio Trujillo, to help him carry out the shootings. In the plea agreement, Jose Louise Trujillo admits to being paid by Peña to break windows, slash tires, and shoot at the homes of the victims. Over five weeks, the homes of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, then incoming Speaker of the House Javier Martinez, then Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O'Malley, and State Senator Linda Lopez, were hit. Jose Trujillo was apprehended during a traffic stop where police found nearly 900 fentanyl pills in his car, along with two guns, an AR-15, and a Glock, which was later connected to the shootings. 'I remember the fact that it had a Glock switch and it was a fully automatic firearm and recognizing that there were a lot of lives put in danger that day with this individual's actions,' said Chief Medina. Thursday in federal court, prosecutors spoke on Trujillo's behalf, asking the judge to recognize Trujillo's courage to cooperate with the FBI despite multiple threats to his well-being. Jose Trujillo was emotional, apologizing for his actions and knowing he had hurt people. He also described how, in the time he's been incarcerated, he's been spit on, beaten, and even stabbed for his cooperation with authorities. 'I believe it's a reflection of Mr. Trujillo's, Jose Trujillo's maturity in the past two and half plus years and of his acceptance of the poor decisions he made that led him here and led him to get this sentence today,' said Trujillo's defense attorney, John Anderson, with Holland & Hart. Trujillo's defense said his client was 'groomed' by Solomon Peña, something the judge took into account, along with Trujillo's lack of any political motivation. She sentenced him to three years and one month in prison. 'Well, today marked the end of a lengthy ordeal for Mr. Jose Trujillo. It was one in which he truly came to terms with his own responsibility and culpability,' said Anderson. Jose Trujillo's time served in the last two years will count towards his sentence, meaning he could be released in the next three to four months. Wednesday, Jose Trujillo's father, Demetrio Trujillo, was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Soloman Peña is expected to be sentenced in July. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Many in Utah's Venezuelan community nervous after court decision
Many in Utah's Venezuelan community have known their future is up in the air given the Trump administration's push to end a program that has let them live and work in the United States. Now they are certain of their uncertain status with Monday's U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the administration's determination to strip nearly 350,000 Venezuelans of temporary protected status granted under a program launched by President Joe Biden. Many who would otherwise be impacted by the court decision also sought asylum and 'will not be deportable, should not be deportable, should not be detained or anything like that,' said South Jordan immigration attorney Carlos Trujillo. Others who did not seek asylum, however, may have now lost their last option to legally stay in the country. 'As soon as that TPS goes away, they will be deportable. They can be detained. Removal proceedings can begin against them,' Trujillo said. Given their uncertain status, he added, some are contemplating moves to Canada, Europe or South America, though not Venezuela. Monday's Supreme Court decision stems from a pending federal lawsuit filed by advocates of the temporary protected status designation created by the Biden administration in 2023 and targeted by President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. While the case continues in a federal court in California, the decision means that Noem's February action ending the program stands, at least until a final determination in the court matter. The advocates had sought a stay, putting off elimination of the program at least until a final court decision on the program's future, which Trujillo said could be two to four years away. Impacted Venezuelans 'won't be able to work,' said Mayra Molina, head of the Venezuelan Alliance of Utah, which advocates for the state's Venezuelan community. 'Again, the fear in the community is big. ... It's a really hard time right now.' The Supreme Court decision applies to about 348,000 Venezuelans nationwide who had secured temporary protected status under an initiative launched in 2023 by the Biden administration. Not impacted are around 250,000 more from Venezuela who secured similar status under a parallel program launched by Biden in 2021, though Trujillo thinks that initiative will likely be targeted later this year. Temporary protected status recipients who also have pending asylum claims may be safe, at least for now, Trujillo said. But those who don't have asylum claims and can't make them, he went on, 'are not sleeping well in fear of what is yet to come.' Asylum claims must be filed within a year of arriving in the United States. Molina estimates around 6,500 to 7,000 Venezuelans in Utah secured temporary protected status under the 2021 and 2023 Biden administration initiatives, spurred by political upheaval in Venezuela. She's not sure how many secured the status in each of the two installations of the initiative. Like Trujillo, though, she says some impacted by Monday's court decision are contemplating moves, possibly to Spain or other South American countries like Colombia or Chile. 'We understand it's not an easy process, but they're considering leaving the country,' she said. Both Molina and Trujillo said most are leery of remaining illegally in the United States, trying to live in the shadows outside the reach of federal immigration authorities. The Biden administration created the temporary protected status designation for Venezuelans given the tenuous political and economic conditions in the country under President Nicolás Maduro, a socialist. Many Venezuelans who have fled say they faced political persecution under Maduro and don't want to return due to safety concerns. 'Let's be clear, things have not changed one bit for the better in Venezuela. In fact, they have gotten worse,' said Trujillo. 'The last report talks about crimes against humanity, not even just political persecution.'
CTV News
13-05-2025
- CTV News
Peruvian historical site vandalized with obscene graffiti in viral video
An archaeologist works on part of an entry corridor that leads to a ceremonial courtyard in the pre-Columbian adobe city of Chan Chan, near Trujillo, Peru on Oct. 22, 2018. (Martin Mejia / AP Photo) LIMA, Peru — A vandal defaced Chan Chan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Peru, with obscene graffiti over the weekend, the Ministry of Culture said Monday. In a video that went viral, a young man wearing a backpack can be seen spray-painting a giant penis on a wall of this fortified complex that is more than 600 years old. 'This act constitutes a grave disrespect toward our history and cultural heritage, as well as a violation of the regulations that protect archaeological heritage sites,' the ministry said. The vandal faces up to six years in prison and has not been identified. Chan Chan was the site of the largest earthen architectural city in pre-Columbian America, according to the United Nations. It once held temples, dwellings and storehouses, often decorated with abstract motifs. Chan Chan reached its peak in the 15th century as a vast city that was home to about 30,000 people, and was 20 kilometres (12 miles) square. It is located about 550 kilometres north of Lima near the coastal city of Trujillo, and has been a UNESCO site since 1986. Along with the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu and the Sacred City of Caral-Supe, Chan Chan is one of the most beloved archaeological sites in Peru.
Arab News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pope Leo's first visit should be to Gaza
In a world that too often feels consumed by conflict, division, and moral fatigue, the election of a new pope brings a flicker of renewed hope. The selection of Pope Leo XIV is more than a change in leadership. It is a spiritual and moral affirmation that the Catholic Church, under his guidance, will continue to walk the path of peace laid down by Pope Francis. From the moment he stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Leo signaled the kind of pontificate he intends to lead. His first words, spoken in Latin, were 'Peace to you all' — a greeting deeply familiar to those of us in the East. It was not lost on many that he repeated the word 'peace' no fewer than nine times in his brief public address. Equally powerful was his echoing part of Pope Francis' now-iconic call to 'build bridges, not walls' — a phrase Francis uttered in front of the Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem in 2014. Pope Leo repeated that same phrase twice, anchoring his mission in a world increasingly obsessed with barriers and fear. Pope Leo was born to a French-Italian American father who served in the Second World War and a Spanish American mother with roots in Creole New Orleans. He arrived in Peru on an Augustinian mission in 1985, and later directed the Augustinian seminary in the northern city of Trujillo for 10 years. His decades of ministry in Latin America have shaped his pastoral style, rooted in simplicity, humility, and deep concern for the poor and marginalized. The symbolism of his speech is strong, and it matters. But even more telling are the calls now circulating that Pope Leo ought to begin with a visit to Gaza. If this proposal becomes reality, it would be one of the boldest opening acts of any modern papacy — a powerful message that the Church stands not with the powerful, but with the suffering. It would mirror the approach of his predecessor, who made a point to meet refugees, visit prisons, and kneel before the forgotten. Gaza today is a wound on the conscience of humanity. Reeling from devastation, under siege, and increasingly isolated from the world, it represents not only a geopolitical crisis but also a moral one. For a new pope to begin his spiritual leadership by visiting Gaza would send a message louder than any encyclical: that the global church sees, hears, and stands with the afflicted. This is no abstraction for us in the Levant. We watched as Pope Francis made unprecedented gestures of solidarity — visiting the Palestinian town of Bethlehem praying at the wall of separation, and emphasizing the rights of all people to live in dignity. Pope Leo appears poised to carry that legacy forward with vigor. At 69, he brings the energy to travel and the theological grounding to lead with clarity and compassion. May Pope Leo be the lion who roars for peace. Daoud Kuttab The choice of the name 'Leo' is also significant. It has not been used in over a century and is a deliberate nod to Pope Leo the Great, a figure known for courage, unity, and love in the face of division. As Catholic affairs expert Wadie Abunassar pointed out in this newspaper yesterday, 'Leo' means lion — but not a lion of empire or force. Rather, this lion roars with the power of love and moral authority, echoing Jesus Christ, the church's founder. Pope Leo's membership in the Augustinian order is also noteworthy. St. Augustine, a North African saint, emphasized the importance of sharing what one has with others — a principle as urgent now as it was in the fourth century. In a time when global leaders often hoard resources and power, and when millions are displaced by war and occupation, the message of selflessness and solidarity could not be more necessary. The Catholic Church's history, like that of any large institution, is riddled with both grandeur and grave mistakes. But under Pope Francis, we saw a clear pivot toward humility, inclusion, and peace-centered theology. He confronted climate change, interfaith division, and systemic injustice. Pope Leo appears ready to continue, if not deepen, this trajectory. Indeed, the legacy of Pope Francis looms large, particularly in the Middle East. He was a consistent advocate for justice in Palestine, repeatedly calling for the rights of Palestinians to live in peace and dignity. He opposed violence in all its forms and was unafraid to name injustice. His gestures, such as praying at the apartheid Israeli wall or recognizing the state of Palestine, had both symbolic and political impact. It is in this spirit that Pope Leo's early words resonate so deeply. We in the region are not looking for empty rhetoric. We yearn for leadership rooted in moral clarity. When a spiritual leader of 1.3 billion people repeats 'peace' nine times in his first speech, that is not a coincidence. It is a signal to a broken world. Our hope is that Pope Leo will not only follow the steps of Pope Francis but will expand them — visiting the wounded, calling out occupation and oppression, and lifting the voices of the silenced. A visit to Gaza, should it happen, would mark a remarkable beginning. As Christians in the East and neighbors in the holy land, we remain eager to see how this new papacy will unfold. The bridge building has already begun. Now we pray that it leads not only to Rome, but also to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Gaza, and every place where peace has become a distant dream. May Pope Leo XIV be the lion who roars for peace — not with the weapons of war or the prestige of empire, but with the fearless love of Christ. • Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. He is the author of 'State of Palestine NOW: Practical and logical arguments for the best way to bring peace to the Middle East.' X: @daoudkuttab
