News of illegal gold mining informed and inspired police raids in Peru

10 Feb 2025

In late 2023, Mongabay Latam worked with experienced freelance writer Enrique Vera on an article that revealed a large number of illegal mining operations and increased violence affecting the Indigenous Awajún community. This undertaking required a team of journalists to travel about 24 miles up the Cenepa River in the Peruvian jungle where they documented 70 illegal gold mining operations, with the help of members of the Awajún, local leaders and authorities. Mongabay published the story in Spanish and English and within days, Peru’s most prestigious newspaper, El Comercio, along with Diario.Ar in Argentina, the global NGO Business & Human Rights, and La Barra Espaciadora in Ecuador all re-published the story.

Congresswoman Ruth Luque also shared and commented on the findings via her X account: “Story from @MongabayLatam details harsh reality in Cenepa. Illegal mining destroys the lives of exploited Indigenous women and girls. This dramatic situation is also experienced by Indigenous people in the districts of Nieva and Río Santiago in Condorcanqui.” Mongabay’s commitment to uncovering these harsh realities brought immediate relief to the affected communities and influenced policy and enforcement strategies to combat the illegal mining.

Mining rafts together and in full exploitation of Cenepa. The Tutino sector is the epicenter of this crime in the river basin. Photo: Luis Taijin.
Mining rafts together and in full exploitation of Cenepa. The Tutino sector is the epicenter of this crime in the river basin. Photo: Luis Taijin.

Following the media attention, Dante Sejekam, President of the Organization for the Development of the Cenepa Border Communities, confirmed to Mongabay’s journalist that law enforcement was quick to respond. Using his reporting as a reference, Peruvian police and military conducted three separate raids in October and November 2023, interdicting and destroying illegal mining equipment, including 23 dredge rafts and equipment such as generators, engines, pumps, pipes and sieves. By the end of 2023 the number of mining dredge rafts was significantly reduced to 25, before increasing again due to a lack of a permanent patrols from a police station or military base in the area. While illegal miners remain active and in conflict with local communities – who have also started to block off access to a tributary of the Cenepa – Mongabay continues to follow and document the activities there, including the demands of local Awajún and Aampís people for sustained protection of their native environment.

Without Mongabay’s reporting, the environmental crimes happening in the Cenepa River Basin would likely not have received the attention they did. Rubén Ninahuanca, the coordinator of the governance program of local NGO Paz y Esperanza, said that the greatest value of the article was in “obtaining evidence for investigations at the prosecutorial level, as it showed the lack of protection for human rights defenders and contributed to advocacy actions for state intervention. The report also made visible human trafficking, child labor, sexual abuse and the lack of child protection due to illegal activities.”

This case illustrates Mongabay’s role in enabling local journalists on the ground, who have developed expertise and are trusted by local law enforcement, as well as Indigenous communities to cover issues that would likely go untold, despite their social and environmental significance.

Note: This impact story was among a number of case studies verified by an independent third party as part of an external evaluation of Mongabay’s tropical deforestation coverage. The evaluation was completed in mid-2024.

Support independent environmental journalism

If you are interested in helping shed light on conservation issues such as this, there are two excellent ways you can do so with Mongabay. First, consider making a donation, which directly helps us continue to produce high-impact journalism from nature’s frontline. Second, subscribe to Mongabay’s newsletter to get the latest environmental news delivered right to your inbox, and share whatever articles move you with friends and family.

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: The shore of the Cenepa is eaten away in various sectors where miners carry out the process to obtain gold. Photo: Enrique Vera