Mongabay reporting spurs government action on forest crime in Peru

30 May 2025

Forest crime in Latin America is increasingly driven by organized cross-border criminal networks. This has not only led to a surge in violent attacks on Indigenous peoples and local communities and made the work of journalists more difficult and dangerous, it also presents additional difficulties to national law enforcement agencies. However, in multiple instances, Mongabay’s reporting has contributed to collaborative, multinational efforts to halt environmental crimes.

In 2022, for instance, Mongabay published a report on drug traffickers, ex-FARC soldiers and illegal gold miners causing pollution, clearing forests for coca crops and threatening at least 35 Indigenous communities along the Putumayo River that marks the border with Colombia. Peruvian Environmental Police and the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Environmental Matters of the Loreto region picked up on the story and soon after, Prosecutor Bratzon Saboya requested Mongabay Latam’s photographs and access to sources in order to initiate an investigation.

Small mining boats illegally mining on the Putumayo River. Photo courtesy of Michelle Carrere.
Small mining boats illegally mining on the Putumayo River. Image courtesy Michelle Carrere.

By August 2023, the national police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office carried out operations against illegal mining in the area. Prosecutors from both Peru and Colombia used information revealed by Mongabay in their ongoing efforts to address these crimes. “A month after Mongabay’s publication, Peruvian and Colombian prosecutors met to discuss a joint operation with the Colombian Armed Forces,” Saboya said. “Because of changes in the national coordination of prosecutors, this has not been carried out yet, but in November 2023 I raised again the possibility of bi-national collaboration, ideally directly involving the environmental prosecutors in both countries. The Mongabay report has given us valuable information for this, including information on the sites of illegal activities.”

In another instance, as part of a multilingual regional investigation on Mennonite colonies in Paraguay, Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Suriname and Colombia, Mongabay Latam produced a series of articles focused on Peru where illegal logging by the religious group has become one of the main causes of deforestation in the country’s Amazon forest. In just two regions, Ucayali and Loreto, around 8,660 hectares (21,400 acres) of forests have already been cleared illegally by Mennonites, negatively impacting Indigenous and local communities.

Tractors and excavators operated by Mennonite youth are clearing the forest. In a few days, these areas will be planted with soybeans and rice. (Photo: Enrique Vera/Mongabay Latam)
Tractors and excavators operated by Mennonite youth are clearing the forest. In a few days, these areas will be planted with soybeans and rice. Image courtesy Enrique Vera for Mongabay Latam.

The role of this coverage in publicizing the trend was recognized by the Prosecutor of the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment, Julio Guzmán, during a live event on X (formerly Twitter) that Mongabay Latam hosted for journalists to share the main findings of the investigation. In his comments, he emphasized the importance of the articles, gave updates on the status of the investigations against three of the colonies and noted that the court had just issued a precautionary measure to stop all activity in the Mennonite colony of Padre Márquez in Ucayali.

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About Mongabay

Mongabay is a nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform focused on providing original, reliable, and independent journalism from nature’s frontline. We pride ourselves on producing reporting that has substantial and tangible impacts around the world.

Banner image: Man navigates a boat through a narrow channel, transporting merchandise and people, as well as prohibited items such as weapons, bullets and drugs. Image courtesy of Michelle Carrere.

This impact story is an adaptation of a case study by an independent third party as part of a 2024 external evaluation of Mongabay’s tropical deforestation coverage.