Venezuela: thousands of illegal and armed miners invade Ye'kwana and Sanema lands in Upper Caura

A new report from the Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas de Venezuela (CIEV) documents the incursion of armed bands of foreign miners in the Upper Caura river, an area the Government long ago agreed be set aside for the Sanema and Ye'kwana indigenous peoples. According to José Figueroa, CIEV co-Director, 'iIlegal mining in the Upper Caura has now reached its maximum yet, with more than three thousand miners destroying the forests', adding that illegal trails have been cut into the headwaters and clandestine airstrips have been created to accommodate Cessna and Antonov planes which supply the mines with food, drink and fuel. As in so many mining camps in the region, there is extensive drug use, and prostitution has proliferated. CIEV has called on the Venezuelan Government to expel the miners and protect the indigenous peoples' rights. For press report (Spanish only)