Links emerge between gold companies and illegal miners in the Colombian Amazon

In Colombia, 80% of exported gold is illegal. Part of this mineral comes from protected areas in the department of Guainía, very close to the border with Venezuela and Brazil. There, in the far east of the country, armed actors, indigenous communities and gold exporting companies with investigations in the Attorney General's Office converge. This investigation of El Espectador—part of the series The Routes of Dirty Gold, coordinated by OjoPúblico's Cross-Border Network— reveals that Colombia exported at least 115 tons of gold of unknown origin between 2014 and 2023 alone.

Daniela Quintero