The Defense Minister, Carlos Holmes Trujillo, He participated virtually in a seminar organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the United States.
During the event, Trujillo made signs against the Venezuelan government. “Many of the illegal structures that commit crimes in Colombia have found space in the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro, in Venezuela, to strengthen their criminal businesses, what seriously affects us ”, he affirmed.
The minister indicated that he has been denouncing these facts in different forums and events taking into account the seriousness of the situation.
“The greatest real threat against Colombian democracy, today, are criminal structures with tentacles on the outside – especially in the vicinity – dedicated to the illicit drug business and the illegal extraction of minerals, “he said.
The official, during his speech, said that in the face of the economic crisis, and especially due to the loss of oil income, the Maduro government has had to use gold to finance international operations.
(You may be interested in: Amazonas, the Venezuelan state where the Eln rules).
“According to intelligence information, 80 percent of the gold mined in Venezuela comes from the illegal exploitation of minerals“Trujillo said.
Many of the illegal structures that commit crimes in Colombia have found space in the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro, in Venezuela, to strengthen their criminal businesses
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Official protection
According to Trujillo, “for years it has been known of the protection that the Maduro regime has given the Eln “, and presented an intelligence report in which he supported his statement.
In it, it is noted that in the Catatumbo region (Norte de Santander), the Eln would be entering gold illegally mined in the states of Bolívar, Apure and Amazonas in Venezuela. And that the illegal group relies on those resources to finance its violent actions in Colombia.
(We recommend you read: ‘More than 1,000 Eln men are in Venezuela ‘: Commander FF. MM.).
Similarly, the head of the Defense portfolio said that, in Guainía, the Eln and the dissent (residual armed groups, Gaor), who call themselves the ‘Acacio Medina Front’, would be entering Venezuela “in order to extract gold to strengthen their criminal economies. Significant illegal mining activity in the Yapacana mines stands out. “
In the same sense, he said that in Puerto Carreño (Vichada), an organization called “Los Chatarreros” is present, dedicated to the trafficking of minerals such as gold, diamonds and black earth “illegally stolen from the Orinoco mining arch in Venezuela, to mobilize them to Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico and Spain.
(Surely you are interested in: Drug trafficking ignites the war between dissent in Putumayo)
He stated during his presentation that members of the dissident groups have regrouped in the Venezuelan state of Amazonas.
“The minerals illegally mined in Venezuela are transported by river on the Orinoco river to Puerto Carreño and later to the city of Bogotá,” Trujillo said.
The minerals illegally mined in Venezuela are transported by river on the Orinoco river
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New threats to Colombia
Due to this situation, the minister affirmed, the Public Force has reinforced controls at the border to prevent these criminal organizations, which are generators of violence, from continuing to destroy natural resources and attack peasants and leaders who oppose their illegal activities. .
For the official, these events generate new threats for the country and for democracy, because the illicit extraction of minerals not only destroys the country, but also that “drug trafficking organizations, illicit exploiters who, in many cases, are related in the different links of this chain , they manage to penetrate the financial systems. ”
(We suggest you read: The drug war to keep business in the middle of the pandemic)
“The illicit exploitation of minerals has also generated negative social impacts in the areas where it develops, causing threats to citizen security, displacement of foreign people (high presence of Venezuelans, Brazilians, and Ecuadorians) and generating illegal dynamics that affect institutionality and local economies, “said Trujillo.
He also pointed out that these “crime companies” make transactions with foreign clients, which is constituted as money laundering and that greater international cooperation is required to deal with such activities.
“In order to give an example: Switzerland reports that less gold has entered its country than Colombia exported, and the United States reported that more gold entered than Colombia actually exported. This reveals the need to cooperate even more,” he said.
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