Peru and Ecuador are Stepping Up Operations Against Illegal Mining

Peru and Ecuador are expanding intelligence sharing and coordinated military operations to combat illegal mining along their shared Amazonian border, seeking to stop criminal networks from shifting across jurisdictions to evade security forces.

The two countries agreed in May 2026 to strengthen cooperation against illegal mining, illegal logging and transnational organized crime, including through intelligence sharing, joint operations and monitoring of bilateral commitments, Peru’s Defence Ministry said.

The initiative comes as illegal gold mining fuels criminal networks across parts of the Amazon, where remote extraction sites, clandestine roads and cross-border supply chains complicate enforcement. Gold demand and the metal’s high value relative to its weight can make illicit mining lucrative, while the use of explosives, heavy machinery and chemical processing creates additional security and environmental risks.

Peru and Ecuador had already signed a 2025-2026 work plan covering joint operations, investigations and international cooperation in areas stretching from northern Cajamarca to Condorcanqui in Peru’s Amazonas region, according to Peru’s Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Pedro Yaranga, a Peruvian security and risk-management expert and professor at Ricardo Palma University, said gaps in border surveillance allow criminal groups to move operations when authorities intensify enforcement on either side.

“When there is pressure in one country, they immediately move to the neighboring country. The best outcome would be to consolidate that alliance at the regional level: sustained pressure and simultaneous cooperation among international agents and allied forces,” Yaranga told Diálogo.

The challenge is particularly acute in the Cordillera del Cóndor, a mountainous border region where illegal mining networks from Ecuador, Peru and Colombia are competing for control of extraction areas, according to investigations by Ecuadorian outlet Código Vidrio and Peruvian investigative publication Ojo Público published in March 2026.

Ecuadorian authorities have continued operations against illegal extraction sites in the provinces of Zamora Chinchipe and Morona Santiago, disabling machinery, camps and equipment used to process gold-bearing material, while Peruvian environmental prosecutors reported in April the destruction of heavy machinery used for illegal extraction in San Ignacio, near the border.

Eight people from Peru, Ecuador and Colombia allegedly linked to the activity were detained, according to the report.

Criminal networks also rely on clandestine roads to move gold-bearing ore, explosives, chemicals and machinery across the border, often bypassing official checkpoints.

“It is the only road that exists in this part of the Ecuadorian side, but it was built by the criminals themselves. All the mining material extracted in Peru is transported in hundreds of trucks to the Ecuadorian side to process the gold, which then comes out as Ecuadorian gold,” Yaranga said.

Código Vidrio documented a clandestine road known as “Paso Tres”, about 3 kilometres long, used by illegal miners and criminal organizations to transport ore, weapons, chemicals and explosives, citing military reports. Construction began in December 2024, outside authorized border crossings, the outlet reported.

The countries have also moved to coordinate military deployments. Following the May meeting, they agreed to prepare and implement plans for mirror military operations in five areas of binational interest and strengthen military intelligence sharing.

“Operations have already been carried out with Peruvian and Ecuadorian participation, primarily involving the Armed Forces, with excellent results. Those types of operations should continue,” Yaranga said.

He called for more effective intelligence gathering to track criminal movements and anticipate relocations.

“Above all, to track the movements of these criminals; otherwise, it’s impossible. Human intelligence must be complemented by state-of-the-art equipment.”

Authorities are also targeting the supply chains that provide explosives to illegal mining sites. In April, Ecuadorian forces dismantled a network that allegedly smuggled explosives from Peru, stored them in the province of El Oro and distributed them to illegal mining areas in Imbabura, Carchi and El Oro, daily newspaper La Hora reported.

Six simultaneous raids in Imbabura, Carchi, Loja and El Oro led to the seizure of emulsion explosives, detonators, ammonium nitrate, cash and mobile devices, the report said.

Yaranga said enforcement efforts should also focus on the financial networks that sustain illegal mining, arguing that arrests alone may fail to disrupt the organizations.

“Targeting only the leaders sometimes does not produce the expected results. We have to attack the financial support network of these organizations: through the same alliance and in real time, blocking accounts and identifying who receives those transfers,” he said.

He estimated that each organization handles “at least about $2 million” annually and urged authorities to trace transfers across borders.

“Those types of actions are much more effective than simply making arrests.”

The two countries are receiving U.S. assistance to strengthen their investigative and technical capabilities against illegal mining and related financial crime.

In Peru, the Public Prosecutor’s Office received a portable X-ray spectrometer and training in May to support investigations into illegal mining and money laundering.

Ecuador and the United States formalized the establishment of an FBI office in Quito in March, with an agent assigned to work alongside a specialized Ecuadorian National Police team. In June, the FBI and Peru’s National Police signed an agreement to establish a special investigative team targeting transnational organized crime, with U.S. support for technology, logistics and training. Additional members joined the team in August.

Yaranga said sustained training for police and military personnel was essential to improving enforcement and reducing corruption risks.

“A trained police force, a professional police force, becomes incorruptible, knows how to manage all its sources, and is reliable,” he said.

The cooperation forms part of a wider regional effort to counter transnational criminal networks and the illicit economies that finance them. The Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition is among the initiatives seeking to strengthen coordination among countries across the hemisphere.

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