Venezuela Deploys Troops in Bolivar Gold Belt as 2008-Lost Las Cristinas Draws New Investment Push
Updated
Updated · Reuters · Jun 10
Venezuela Deploys Troops in Bolivar Gold Belt as 2008-Lost Las Cristinas Draws New Investment Push
3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Jun 10
Summary
Troops launched a large operation near Las Claritas in Bolivar state, with residents reporting explosions, gunfire and low-flying drones that shut businesses and kept people indoors.
Las Claritas sits in the Orinoco Mining Arc, where illegal gold mining is widely controlled by organized crime and armed factions, according to NGOs and U.N.-backed investigators.
Provea said the army was operating in Las Cristinas and Km 88 and warned civilians faced risks of arbitrary detentions and extrajudicial executions.
The crackdown comes as Venezuela tries to reopen mining to foreign capital after passing a new law in April and offering security guarantees to incoming companies.
Las Cristinas was once slated for development by Canada's Crystallex before Hugo Chavez halted the project in 2008, underscoring how long investment in the sector has been frozen.