An operation against illegal mining is taking place in Yutzupino, Napo, where environmental damage due to gold extraction has been detected, according to the authorities.
Some 900 troops carried out a joint operation, including Armed Forces and Policeagainst illegal minery in the Amazonian province of Napoin the center-east of Ecuador, reported this Sunday the Ministry of Defense.
defense ministers, Luis Hernandezand government, Alexandra Vela, inspected “in situ” the operation that was carried out in the Yutzupino area, near the city of Tena, the capital of Napo province, where located machinery and people associated with illegal minery.
#Napo| In the Yutzupino sector, Tena canton, the @FFAAECUADOR With the employment of more than 900 troops, they carry out a military operation against illegal mining.#PrideDefense pic.twitter.com/Zm5IdqCVs5
— Ministry of National Defense of Ecuador (@DefensaEc) February 13, 2022
The Ministry of Defense pointed out that the military «located machinery Y people involved in this activitywhich affects the water basins of the sector».
On her side, the Minister of Government, in her account on the same social network, assured that in the country «the fight against illicit activities continues«.
Vela maintained that the police and military “intervene in the Yutzupino community, in Tena, where illegal mining is carried out. We will not allow the affectation of the environment or the life of Ecuadorians“, he added.
Also, the Ministry of the Environment posted on its Twitter account images of the operation and of the meetings that the authorities have held with the local inhabitants, many of whom are engaged in illegal mining.
In the social networks, videos could also be seen in which the inhabitants of the area rejected the intervention of the security forces with the argument that mining without papers allowed them to survive.
The operation against the illegal mining site in Yutzupino took place after complaints from environmental groups who warned of the contamination and alleged violation of rights that is recorded in that area.
The Ecological Action organization assured on its Twitter portal that «there are serious complaints about pollution, destruction of nature, violence and deaths» in the Yutzupino area.
Days ago, this same organization had warned of «devastation in Yutzupino» and that «more than 3,000 people would be doing illegal mining in this community of Napo, without control of the authorities».
According to testimonies collected by Acción Ecológica, also «there is domestic violence, unsolved deaths, alcoholism, sexual exploitation of girls«. (EFE)
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