The Nanay River, a vital source of water for more than half a million inhabitants of Iquitos (Loreto), has become the new epicenter of illegal mining in the Peruvian Amazon, driven by the high price of gold.
A recent overflight documented more than forty dredges operating illegally on the riverbank, removing the river bed and leaving pollution, which threatens biodiversity, public health and the future of the communities that depend on its crystal clear waters.
A report of “Final Point”realize that The “gold rush”, intensified since the pandemic, has caused the Nanay, a tributary of the Amazon, to go from being a clean river to an environmental disaster zone. Gold is priced at 380 soles per gram, a price that feeds a sophisticated and highly organized criminal chain.
Maynas’ environmental prosecutor, Bratzon Zaboya, revealed the existence of a 33-kilometer fuel traffic route to supply the dredges. Each requires about 60 gallons of oil a day, supporting a parallel illegal trade. Suction tubes, engines, hoses and almost four thousand gallons of fuel were seized at the Yarana police base.
Prosecutor Zaboya admitted that the miners They use technology such as Starlink satellite internet antennas and drones to communicate and anticipate police operationssurpassing the nine agents assigned to the Yarana base.
The coordinating prosecutor of FEMAS, Frank Almanza, warned that the situation in Nanay runs the risk of becoming a disaster like that of Madre de Dios. He warned that, given the rise in gold, even drug trafficking is migrating to illegal mining and signs of foreign citizens and possible links with armed groups such as the FARC, which operate under the guise of tourism, have been detected.
José Manuyama, president of the Iquitos Water Defense Committee, regretted the situation: “To see a depredated river is to touch ourselves. For an Amazonian, nature is part of its substance.”
Mercury pollution, shoreline deforestation, and ecosystem damage are already affecting riverside communities, whose livelihoods depend on fishing, clean water, and tourism.
