|
The
announcement came after some 1,000 security forces destroyed
machinery in a raid on illegal miners in the eastern Amazonian
provinces of Napo and Orellana.
Earlier this year, President Guillermo Lasso declared illegal
mining a threat to national security, linking the practice to
organized crime, including money laundering and arms and fuel
trafficking.
"To the members of organized crime who insist on this activity,
hear this message clearly: We're coming in with absolutely
everything," Interior Minister Juan Zapata told a press
conference in capital Quito.
Illegal mining is present in 21 of Ecuador's 24 provinces,
Zapata said, but the plan announced on Monday targets key
conflict zones in the Amazon region that are rich in
biodiversity, including protected areas, as well as areas that
are home to precious and base metals.
The latest operation aims to further destroy machinery, seize
weapons and arrest those involved, according to Zapata.
Last weekend in Napo and Orellana, security forces reported the
visible impact of the unlawful activity on local biodiversity
and rivers, as well the presence of fuel in the water,
Environment Minister Jose Davalos told reporters.
So far this year, raids authorized by authorities on illegal
mines have documented the seizure of heavy machinery and even a
helicopter.
The government has not given figures on the increase in illegal
mining, nor the total number of hectares (acres) affected in the
most affected areas, but it has described it is a growing
activity.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Editing by Sandra Maler)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
