By Aurora Lane | 2023-08-30

LA PAZ -- Two Chinese nationals were ordered to be held in pre-trial detention by a Bolivian court after being arrested along with four Bolivians in an operation against illegal gold mining in the Amazon rainforest. The prosecutor for the Beni department, Gerardo Balderas, announced the decision.

The arrest took place on August 23 on the banks of the Kaka de Teoponte River in the Bolivian Amazon.

The operation against illegal mining was carried out by a joint force of Bolivian police, military, the Mining Administrative Jurisdictional Authority (AJAM) and the Indigenous Peoples of La Paz Central Group (CPILAP).

On Saturday, August 26, the Public Criminal Investigation Court of Rurrenabaque in Beni department ordered the preventive detention of two Chinese citizens during a hearing on precautionary measures.

"The Public Prosecutor's Office substantiated with sufficient evidence that the Chinese citizens Jianming Y. and Zhanxin L., 48 and 50 years old, respectively, are likely the perpetrators of the crime of illegally exploiting mineral resources," said Balderas.

The official added that the two foreigners will be transferred to the San Pedro de La Paz prison since they could not demonstrate the authorization to carry out mineral mining in Bolivia.

The four Bolivians arrested are charged with the same crime.

"The six defendants were arrested in the act in two different places while extracting gold. At the hearing, the prosecutor presented all the evidence collected during the preliminary investigation, including the direct action report, the record of the crime scene, and the records of the seizure of material evidence," added the regional prosecutor.

The prosecutor assigned to the case, Víctor Hugo Porcel, said that the two Chinese nationals were found on the Kaka de Teoponte River, where they were illegally extracting gold. Specifically, they were in the area called Arco Iris I, a protected area where mining is prohibited.

Illegal practice

AJAM issued a statement on August 24 noting that it had found several points along the various Amazon rivers where cooperatives and artisanal miners had subcontracted their mining rights to foreigners.

This practice is illegal and AJAM is working to investigate it and to act against the culprits, the statement said, according to the Associated Press.

Several Chinese companies operate in Bolivian indigenous territories under the guise of local mining cooperatives, but their impact on the environment and the health of the communities has been devastating.

A study published last June by CPILAP revealed that several gold mines north of the Bolivian capital are controlled by local cooperatives that lend their names to Chinese companies.

These Chinese companies then take advantage of this arrangement to pay lower taxes and royalties, as they are considered local businesses.

CPILAP found that hundreds of residents of 36 communities have been chronically "poisoned" with mercury used during the extraction of gold carried out by Chinese companies, both legally and illegally, in the Amazon rivers.

The main consequences of mercury pollution in the basin have been multiple premature births, congenital deformities, learning difficulties, tremors and problems in the nervous system, among many other pathologies.

Contaminated fish

For the investigation, workers took hair samples from 302 members of the indigenous Tsimanes, Mosetenes, Uchupiamanas, Lecos, Esse Ejjas and Tacanas tribes. Water samples were also taken from the Beni River basin and its tributaries Tuichi, Quiquibey, Tequeje, and Madre de Dios.

The studies concluded that 74.5% of the subjects evaluated had dangerously high levels of mercury, exceeding the limit allowed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Since last year, Amazonian peoples in Bolivia have repeatedly called on the government of Luis Arce to stop or at least regulate the activity of Chinese mining companies and their widespread use of mercury. However, they have not received any response.

China is exploiting a lack of local regulations to extract gold legally and illegally in South America, according to various specialists in the field who spoke at an international meeting organized in Brasilia in mid-June, according to the newspaper Los Tiempos of the Bolivian city of Cochabamba.

The news report said that analysts are convinced that Beijing is financing extractive activities in South America and Africa, where gold is extracted both legally and illegally. The gold is then shipped to China, which is hoarding it in case of potential financial sanctions during conflicts.

Despite the repeated complaints made through the media, these illegal activities continue unabated in a string of neighboring countries.

Governments in Latin America have been reluctant to crack down on illegal mining by Chinese companies, fearing that doing so would anger the Chinese government and jeopardize trade.

This timidity has allowed devastating consequences to the environment and the health of local communities to continue.