FAN officials arrested two Colombian citizens for work related to illegal mining in Amazonas
The head of the Strategic Operational Command of the National Armed Forces (Ceofan), G/J Domingo Hernández Lárez, reported this Sunday, September 1, that two people of Colombian nationality were arrested who had the alleged intention of entering the Yapacana National Park in Amazonas to carry out actions related to illegal mining.
Through its social networksHernández Lárez said that the citizens identified as James Sepúlveda Vargas and Luis Alberto Rojas Ortiz were arrested when they were traveling by boat from the department of Guainia towards the municipality of Atabapo in Amazonas with material that was seized; a procedure that was notified to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
In this regard, he highlighted that officers of the National Armed Forces recovered from the vessel seven 200-liter plastic containers for storing gasoline, two diving suits, a diving mask, a 298-liter horizontal freezer; 150 kilos of food, two kilos of garlic, three boxes of assorted confectionery, two boxes of malt, 13 boxes of soft drinks, two 18-kilo gas cylinders and one 43-kilo gas cylinder; along with 12 flashlights.
«In the state of Amazonas, according to our territorial legal system, mining and hydrocarbon exploitation is totally prohibited. The land of the national territory is not negotiated, is not sold and cannot be alienated. National parks and forest areas must be protected by all citizens, since they are under a special protection regime of conservation of the Venezuelan State,» wrote Hernández Lárez.
*Read also: FAN reports destruction of another illegal mining camp in Amazonas
Within the framework of the Bolivarian Shield Operation “Neblina 2024” for the protection of the Amazonian territory, in accordance with the provisions of the 5th objective of the Plan de la Patria, the 7T, the CRBV, security and defense plans, the Environmental Criminal Law and the Water Law, #FANB in… pic.twitter.com/rDq1GIAtBH
— GJ. Domingo Hernandez Larez (@dhernandezlarez) September 1, 2024
Only between March and April 2024 Canaima National Park lost 38,483 hectares (384.83 square kilometers or km²) to forest fires. The territory, considered a world heritage site for its unique ecosystem, the presence of indigenous groups, the tepuis and Angel Falls, has also lost at least 1,500 hectares (15 km²) since 2018 until now due to illegal mining.
These data were presented by the NGO SOS Orinoco in the World Heritage Watch Report 2024, published on June 5. “There is no effective administration on the ground by Inparques (National Parks Institute) or any other government authority to preserve this area under the standards required by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization),” the NGO denounced.
SOS Orinoco warned that the efforts of Civil Protection and the authorities to monitor the 3,000,000 hectares of the ecosystem protected by the State are insufficient due to the lack of personnel, transportation and resources to mitigate fires or illegal mining. “UNESCO must urgently carry out an independent evaluation in the field, without intermediaries or political interference, to comply with the World Heritage Convention for the benefit of humanity and the communities of Venezuela,” SOS Orinoco encouraged.
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