Ecuador: Organized mafias blamed for illegal mining

LAtimes.com reported that a civilian is killed and nine soldiers wounded during the breakup of an illegal mining operation. ‘Organized mafias’ are blamed. The vice president of Ecuador on Friday denounced illegal mining as growing scourge a day after a violent confrontation between soldiers and miners in an Amazonian region left one civilian dead and nine soldiers wounded. The violence occurred after soldiers attempted to confiscate river dredges and dislodge mostly indigenous miners in the province of Morona Santiago, about 200 miles southeast of Quito, the capital. Foreign mining concerns and small-scale miners, often without permits, have ramped up gold-mining projects in the region in recent years. Read Article

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