2023-09-15 04:47:39
At least two people have deceased and six others have been injuredincluding three soldiers, in an operation of the Venezuelan Armed Forces against illegal mining in the Amazon.
The Bolivarian Ministry of Defense specified this Thursday that a group of miners “surprisingly and premeditatedly attacked” the security forces with knives and firearms in the Cacique sector, which is located in the town of Atabapo. The Venezuelan Army, which has been in the area for several months carrying out ‘Operation Autana 2023’, deployed 400 military personnel the day before that “proceeded to the eviction, dismantling and destruction of more than 500 clandestine structures used for illegal mining.”
Defense has stressed that “during all the operations carried out in the Cerro Yapacana National Park” more than 12,000 people have been evicted “in an impeccable performance, strictly framed in the legal system and, above all, with deep respect for Human Rights.” .
Likewise, he recalled that the aforementioned territory is an area under a special administration regime and a security and defense zone of the State, in which by law mining activities are expressly prohibited. “After illegal mining, a countless number of crimes are generated such as forced labor and prostitution, human trafficking, smuggling and environmental depredation,” denounces the Executive, which points out that “all these crimes are sponsored by armed terrorists drug traffickers. from Colombia”.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, for his part, has requested the Public Ministry to begin the corresponding investigations, according to a statement from the ministerial portfolio, shared on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
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