The syndicates that control the mines in Venezuela’s southern states exert strict control over the populations who live and work there, imposing abusive working conditions. Those accused of theft and other offences face brutal punishments. In the worst cases, the syndicates have dismembered and killed alleged offenders in front of other workers.
“Poor Venezuelans driven to work in gold mining by the ongoing economic crisis and humanitarian emergency have become victims of macabre crimes by armed groups that control illegal mines in southern Venezuela,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.
The gold miners live in fear and are exposed to harsh working conditions, poor sanitation, and an extremely high risk of diseases such as malaria. Interviews with 35 individuals conducted by HWR confirmed many mines are under the tight control of Venezuelan syndicates or Colombian armed groups. The interviewees also said the Venezuelan authorities are aware of the illegal mining activities, with state security agents observed accepting bribes.
Mercury is used by miners to extract the gold, despite being prohibited in Venezuela. Mercury can cause serious health problems, even in small amounts, with toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and on the lungs, kidneys, skin, and eyes. Interviewees also described consistently harsh working conditions in the mines, including 12-hour shifts without any protective gear and children as young as 10 working alongside adults.
“National and international companies buying gold from Venezuela should know whether it comes from mines in Bolívar state and should have due diligence procedures in place to ensure that their supply chains are free from illicit, exploitative, and violent activities,” HRW’s Vivanco said. “If companies find that their gold supply is linked to some of these abuses, or are unable to trace its source, they should work to fix those problems or cease working with those suppliers.”
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TAINTED GOLD Companies should be vigilant about gold from Venezuela and undertake human rights due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for their impact on human rights connected to their operations, HRW says. This should include identifying and assessing risks in supply chains, monitoring a business’ human rights impact on an ongoing basis, publishing information about due diligence efforts, and having processes in place to remediate adverse human rights impacts of their actions.
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SICK PRICE Nearly every person interviewed who had worked in mines or mining towns had suffered from malaria. They sometimes had to purchase their own antimalarial drugs, which could cost up to two grams of gold, worth over US$100 on the international market. The malaria epidemic affecting the country is closely correlated with the upsurge of illegal mining in the south of Venezuela. This gold mine in Las Claritas, known as ‘Ocho Muertos’, or eight dead, is surrounded by pools of stagnant water.
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ECONOMIC MIGRANTS Thousands of Venezuelans flocked to the illegal gold mines in the country’s southern states in the hope of getting paid in gold rather than the country’s inflation ravaged currency
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WORK MASSACRE The armed groups in charge of the mines and the settlements that have grown up around them, brutally enforce their rule. “Everyone knows the rules,” one person said. “If you steal or mix gold with another product, the pran [the syndicate leader] will beat or kill you.” Another said: “They are the government there… If you steal, they ‘disappear’ you.” The poster shows the victims of a March 2016 massacre, carried by family members at a protest that closed a major road for several days.
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NO CURE A cardboard sign saying in Spanish ‘no medicine until further notice’ hangs at the entrance to a small field clinic where malaria specialists test and treat patients for the disease. The clinic is sited near an illegal gold mine in Las Claritas.
Gold price
Venezuelans working in the country’s highly profitable but illegal gold mines are suffering amputations and other horrific abuses at the hands of armed groups, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned. It says the Venezuelan “syndicates” and Colombian armed groups carrying out the abuses seem to operate largely with government acquiescence, and in some cases government involvement.
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