Indigenous communities face existential threat from illegal mining and organized crime in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Ecuador’s Amazon rainforests and indigenous communities are facing an existential threat, attributed to organized crime, illegal mining and government crackdowns that are destroying one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots, a recent report says.

“Ecuador has become one of the most violent countries in the world, with the Amazon region experiencing the largest increase in homicides last year,” according to a report published by Amazon Watch, a US-based nonprofit.

The report Gold, Gangs and Governance: Indigenous Communities in the Grip of Organized Crime highlighted how criminal networks have taken hold in the Ecuadorian Amazon, turning the area into a hotbed of illegal activities that destroy the environment and violate the rights of indigenous peoples.

“As government repressive policies fail to address the root causes of violence and the expansion of illicit markets, Amazon Watch and indigenous organizations call for urgent international attention and intervention,” the report said.

The report highlighted that the Ecuadorian government shows glaring institutional weakness and an alarming inability to control illegal mining activities in the Amazon.

“Indigenous communities in the Amazon face a triple threat: the militarization of the state in response to our resistance to extractive projects, the relentless advance of illegal gold mining, and organized crime, which brings violence, contract killings and extortion to our territories,” said Zenaida Yasacama, vice president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, in a Sept. 11 Amazon Watch press release.

“The government’s strategies, based on heavy-handed policies, have failed to curb organized crime. On the contrary, they have intensified human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions,” she added.

Failure on all fronts

The press release stated that the Ecuadorian government’s failure to contain the crisis is evident in the lack of traceability of exported gold, the proliferation of shell companies and the disturbing complicity of authorities in these illegal activities.

“Despite the devastating environmental impacts – ranging from massive deforestation and water pollution to the destruction of vital ecosystems – the government’s security plans are woefully inadequate,” it argued.

“They lack targeted measures to protect vulnerable indigenous communities and fail to address the environmental crime that is devastating this vital region,” the statement said.

The report shows that indigenous communities in the Amazon, such as the Cofán, Kichwa and Shuar, are on the frontlines of this crisis.

These communities are said to be under increasing pressure from criminal groups seeking to exploit their land for gold and other resources, often leading to violent clashes and human rights violations.

“The Ecuadorian government has failed miserably to protect indigenous communities from the rampant illegal activities that are destroying their lands and lives. Despite overwhelming evidence of the rise of organized crime and illegal mining, the government’s response has not only been inadequate but at times complicit in the exploitation of these vulnerable populations,” Sofía Jarrín, Amazon Watch’s Western Amazon advocate and lead author of the report, was quoted as saying.

“Illegal gold mining has become the most dominant criminal activity in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Criminal organizations are reinvesting profits from drug trafficking in this lucrative business, fueling a violent struggle for territorial control,” Jarrín continued.

“These dynamics not only lead to increased violence, extortion, recruitment and contract killings, but also enable the expansion of other illicit markets, such as the smuggling of mercury, weapons and drugs, thus empowering the criminal groups that guard the mining enclaves,” she added.

Mining mafias evict indigenous communities in Amazon

According to Nely Shiguango, an indigenous leader with the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of Napo, the banks of the world’s largest river have traditionally been places where women have farmed and sustained their communities, playing a crucial role in the local economy.

“But with the arrival of the mining mafia, these areas have been devastated, forcing many families to make deals with miners in exchange for money, making them even more vulnerable. Furthermore, the presence of miners has led to an increase in sexual violence, with reported cases of abuse and pregnancies being used as a way to gain legitimacy within the communities,” she said.

The report concluded that illegal mining in Ecuador is a dangerous intersection of criminal economies that deeply penetrate the economic, cultural and political fabric of society.

“This insidious process creates criminal ecosystems – lawless zones where multiple actors thrive in the complete absence of state control,” the report said.