The Government of Peru declared on Monday (05.05.2025) the curfew in the District of Pataz, after the eve was dead to 13 workers linked to one of the large gold mining companies in the country, President Dina Boluarte announced.
The victims, workers of a company that provided services to the powerful mine, were found dead in a mining in Pataz days after denouncing their kidnapping in that place.
“The curfew is declared throughout the Pataz district from six in the afternoon until six in the morning,” said Boluarte in a pronouncement as part of the measures to face organized crime linked to illegal mining.
“The Armed Forces will take total control in the Powerful Minera area,” added the president surrounded by her ministers and the main military and police chiefs in the Government Palace.
Boluarte also announced that the mining activity in the province of Pataz, of about 88,000 inhabitants, will be suspended for 30 days to facilitate the installation of the Armed Forces and Police “in a military base.
Mining is a key economic driver in Peru, one of the largest gold producers in Latin America. Pataz, located about 900 kilometers from the capital Lima, has been in a state of emergency since February 2024 due to the escalation of violence caused by gold fever.
“We all know that the illegal activity of our mining moves millions and millions, many more than the millions that moves drug trafficking. We have to battle and win this war,” said Boluarte in the statement broadcast by the state television.
Between 2013 and 2023, the Financial Intelligence Unit of Peru identified operations for 8,241 million dollars suspected of coming from illegal mining.
The country lives a wave of extortion and violent crime that has led the authorities to decree the state of emergency in various parts of the country.
GS (AFP, EFE)
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