- A nationwide poll conducted on June 7th found a high percentage of fear of crime, linking the candidates to organized crime and the authoritarian legacies of their fathers.
- Organized crime is profiting from illegal gold mining operations.
- Gold mining runoff and gillnets are threatening dolphin populations in the Amazon river system.
- Illegal gold mining operations are contaminating the river system in the Amazon.
Organized Crime Groups Dominate Cocaine Supply Chains and Gold Extortion in Amazon Basin
What happened
Organized crime groups, including the First Capital Command (PCC) and the Red Command (CV), are dominating the cocaine supply chain and engaging in gold-mining extortion across the Amazon basin of Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. CV has consolidated alliances along trafficking routes, deepening its presence in Madre de Dios, a key gold mining hub in Peru. A May 2026 operation in the Yavarí River area reportedly seized nearly 9 tons of narcotics, linking CV to the financing of coca in Loreto and Ucayali.
From eurasiareview.com
Why it matters
The groups are exploiting the criminal economies of the three countries, utilizing Manaus and Belém as major Amazon-to-Atlantic hubs. The activities involve the large-scale transit of narcotics and the extortion of gold mining operations.
From eurasiareview.com